Live to Rise
by ArtGirlie815
Summary: Set 18 years after "This is War" The Avengers have painfully begun to move on from the loss of Clint and Natasha's daughter. Now they have their own families, quieter lives, and over all peace. Until Stark Tower is attacked by a mysterious woman archer that causes Tony to wonder about her identity. Did Lucy Barton actually die 18 years ago or did she manage to survive?
1. Chapter 1

a/n: and I am back for the final installment of this little adventure... Now I am warning you guys now. Updates may be a little slow. My class load this semester is a bit more intense than last semester so the time to write has decreased :( Dont worry though. I have six chapters of this one done for sure so I'm hoping to keep it up.

Anyways...if you have stumbled upon this story I highly suggested that you go back and read the ones that come before it. The order of the series is : One More Night, Dark Side, (The Little Things which is a collection of oneshots), and This is War. Those explain whats going on.

So without further ado here is the first chapter to Live to Rise...

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Chapter 1

18 Years Later

Tony's heart felt heavy. He knew it shouldn't; it was a happy day. It was the twins 18th birthday. But still there was a tug deep in his chest that kept him quiet as he hung the decorations.

It was an ache that had a double meaning. One was that he was old. His babies were growing up and there was nothing he could do about it.

The second was more deeply rooted in the past. His heart ached for Natasha and Clint. They had never got the chance to celebrate their little girl's 18th birthday. He knew that every year on Lucy's birthday the couple would treat to their floor not to be disturbed.

Lucy's death had hit all the Avengers hard. It was like Loki had stolen a piece of their hearts.

A small amount of joy returned when Pepper gave birth to Amelia and Anthony, but the pain in both Natasha and Clint's eyes was not easily covered up.

Natasha coped by helping out with the twins whenever she got the chance. The two had almost become her children as well. Clint withdrew for a long time. He rarely went near the twins when they were younger. He slowly warmed up them; accepting the fact that his baby girl was gone.

The Peggy and Steve had little Oliver Phillip. Clint was extremely close to the frail little boy. Tony had always thought it was because he saw Lucy in Oliver.

The youngest kid was Jane and Thor's son, Dustin. Dustin was a spitting image of Thor; just as enthusiastic and strong.

Anya and Lida chose to go into S.H.I.E.L.D. once they were old enough. Lida had stayed her usually bubbly self while Anya seemed to harden and become a lot like Natasha.

Everyone had grown up.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Pepper asked pulling Tony out of his thoughts.

He gave his wife a weak smile.

"Nothing, I'm fine," he said straightening a streamer.

Pepper raised an eyebrow, "You're a horrible liar, Tony Stark."

Tony sighed and turned to face Pepperl, "I was thinking about Lucy," he confessed.

"What about her?"

"She'd be nineteen," Tony said softly.

"Yeah, she would be," Pepper replied.

"You heard from Nat and Clint?" Tony asked walking around the room to make sure everything was in place.

"They won't be done with their OP in time for the party. They gave me the kids gifts and asked if I would feed Shadow," Pepper replied.

Tony chuckled, "I still can't believe they let Bruce experiment on that dog."

"I don't think they wanted her to die," Pepper said softly.

Bruce had figured out a way to freeze Shadow's aging so the dog was perpetually 5 years old.

"Oh. My. Gosh! Daddy, it's amazing!" Amelia exclaimed as she and her brother walked in.

Amelia flung herself into Tony's arms, squeezing him tightly. Tony smiled and returned the hug. He pulled away and held her at arms-length. She had grown up into a beautiful young woman. Her hair was the same brown as his own, but as straight as her mother's. She had amazing blue eyes that could melt his heart from day one. She was more like him than he would like but still he loved her with all his heart.

"Happy Birthday, Baby Girl," Tony said trying not to tear up.

Amelia smiled brightly, "Thanks Daddy."

"Now, where's my boy?" Tony called out turning to Anthony.

"It's great Dad. You did a good job," Anthony said shoving his hands into his pockets.

Pepper nudged him forward, "Go hug your father."

Anthony rolled his eyes but stepped forward and embraced Tony.

"You're never too old for a hug," Tony mumbled in Anthony's ear.

"Sir, the guests are arriving," JARVIS announced.

Anthony pulled away and smiled at Tony.

"Go have fun," Tony said nodding his son off.

Anthony walked off to the elevator, greeting his friends as they came in. Steve, Peggy, and Oliver came in after the party had started. Oliver stuck to Steve's side as usual. The poor boy was a carbon copy of his father pre-serum. Oliver was tall and lanky. His sandy blonde hair was ruffled and his brown eyes were constantly scanning the room. However, despite his frail, nervous exterior, Oliver was a strong athletic boy who was an automatic leader.

The part Tony found the most amusing was Oliver's involvement in the musical world. The boy certainly had a set of pipes and could dance like no tomorrow. The other kids picked on Oliver for his singing, but the boy stayed strong.

Tony watched Amelia, Anthony, Oliver, and Lida dance with their friends, smiling to himself.

It was a good day. Seeing the kids smiling and having fun made his heart ache just a little less.

He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket causing him to pull it out and glance at the message. It was a text alert from JARVIS warning him of a possible security breach on the roof. Tony frowned and nudged Steve.

"Follow me," he said heading to the elevator.

Steve gave Peggy a quick kiss on the cheek then followed.

"What's up?" he asked once they were in the privacy of the elevator.

"Possible security breach on the roof. I just wanted to check it out," Tony replied.

"Awesome and it's raining," Steve said sarcastically.

The two men reached the roof and peered out into the pouring rain.

The roof was clear.

"I don't see anything, Stark. Maybe it was just a glitch?" Steve suggested.

"JARVIS doesn't have glitches, Cap," Tony replied squinting into the rain.

He trained his eyes on the air conditioning unit, trying to make out it's shape into the darkness.

For a brief second he saw a small of movement causing his hear to race.

There was a low whistle followed by a thump and searing pain spreading up Tony's arm.

He stumbled back in the elevator in shock. He grabbed his bleeding arm and wheeled to look at what hit him. Embedded in the wall was a single arrow.

"What the hell?" Tony hissed holding his arm and running out into the rain towards the air conditioning unit.

"Have you lost your mind?!" Steve exclaimed running after his friend.

Tony watched as a figure jumped off the roof and swung to a neighboring building, sprinting away. All he could see was the figure was dressed in all black, was wielding a bow, and was most definitely female.

"It's gone Tony! Let's get out of the rain," Steve said tugging on Tony's uninjured arm.

Once back in the elevator, Steve grabbed Tony's arm to examine the wound/

"You need stitches," he said meeting Tony's gaze.

"I'll go to Bruce, go change and go back to party," Tony said pulling his arm away.

"What about…" Steve started.

"I'll handle this, okay. Just keep an eye on the kids," Tony said getting off at Brue's floor.

Steve nodded and disappeared behind the doors.

Tony padded off to Bruce's lab, where he found the scientist working.

Bruce glanced up, "I didn't know you got a dunking booth."

"I didn't, I was attacked on the roof," Tony said sitting down on a stool.

Bruce stopped working and took off his glasses. "Attacked?"

"Yeah, JARVIS alerted me of a breach and I got shot in the arm," Tony explained holding up his arm.

Bruce rubbed the bridge of his nose and replaced his glasses. He gathered his surgical supplies and crossed to Tony.

As he began his work, Tony spoke up, "It was an arrow."

"An arrow? So we have an archer for an enemy now," Bruce said pulling the skin together.

Tony didn't even flinch; his mind was too busy to think of the pain

"I may be losing my mind," he said softly.

"We have all lost our minds, Tony. It's part of aging," Bruce replied finishing his stitches and wrapping a bandage around them.

"The archer was a woman," Tony continued.

"Well, that's not unusual," Bruce said.

Tony touched Bruce's shoulder causing Bruce to look up.

"Bruce, she had red hair," Tony whispered.

Bruce was silent; what Tony was implying was impossible.

"It was just your eyes messing with your brain, Tony," Bruce said turning away

"I know what I saw. It was a red head female archer. Bruce it all adds up!" Tony exclaimed.

"Except for the fact that Lucy died 18 years ago!" Bruce growled in frustration

Tony was silent.

"She's gone Tony. We all miss her. We all see her everywhere. But sh'e dead. That woman was not Lucy," Bruce explained.

Tony took a deep breath.

"I know that, but having the thought that that might have been ehrmakes the pain go away for a moment." He said.

"Think of the pain Natasha and Clint feel," Bruce said.

Tony didn't respond. He slid off the stool and left the lab, heading up to his own floor. He needed to think. Whoever the archer was, he knew she would be back and next time he would be waiting for her.

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a/n: sooooooooooooooooooooo what did you guys think?


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: awesome amount of reviews but i know you guys are out there ;) dont worry my readers everything will work out

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Chapter 2

She really didn't mind the rain. It had always been a comforting thing.

But today, the rain was annoying. She couldn't see a thing through the downpour. She was soaked down to her underwear and her leather suit was beginning to chaff.

She adjusted her quiver and knelt down behind the air conditioning unit. The soft hum masked the sound of her arrow and bow perfectly.

She hadn't quite understood why Loki wanted her to break into Stark Twoer. She knew that he despised the Avengers, but sending her in to face them just seemed like suicide. She looked down at the tip of her pony tail watching the rain drip off the ends of her red curls.

Suicide didn't make sense though. Loki wouldn't want her dead. He had said he needed her.

She pulled herself out of her thoughts when she heard the sound of the elevator.

She readied an arrow and peered over the air conditioner.

Two men where in the elevator; one she recognized as Tony Stark and the other as Steve Rodgers.

She trained her bow on Stark and slowly pulled the string back with her gloved fingertips. She had one shot; just one.

She watched Stark take a step out into the rain his shirt instantly getting soaked. A soft blue light shown through the fabric on his chest, causing her to pause.

She released a bit of tension on the bow. The light seemed familiar, like she had seen it before; perhaps in a dream. She shook her head ridding her mind of the thought and took aim.

She took a deep breath and let go.

For the first time, she missed.

Her heart clenched in fear as Stark recovered and headed to her location. Panicking, she loaded her grappling arrow and took off. She launched herself off the edge of the Tower and swing to a neighboring building.

She didn't dare look back; she just ran.

She finally reached her safe house and quickly got inside. She dropped her bow just inside the door and leaned heavily on the door, breathing heavily. She slid down to where she was sitting and ran her hands back over her soaked hair.

"How did it go?" Loki asked stepping out of the shadows.

Her head snapped up searching for him. She took a shaky breath before answering.

"I missed," she said softly.

She could feel the anger radiating from Loki.

"You missed?" he hissed, his boots echoing as he walked forward.

She stood up and held her head high, "Yes I missed. I am sorry," she replied trying to stay strong.

"I gave you one task. One simple task. Get into Stark Tower and take out an Avenger. And you failed," Loki said in a low menacing tone.

She slumped slightly, knowing this wasn't going to be good.

"You're weak. I was foolish to think you were more than just a human," he continued.

"I am," she squeaked.

"No! You're not! I'm done with you. You are just a waste of my time! Do what you wish, go sell your talents, sell your body, I don't care. You care too much for an assassin. Your own heart is your poison. Go join the ranks of liars and killers where you belong," Loki snarled towering over her.

She was shaking. All she managed to do was grab her bow from the floor and slip back into the rain.

She walked away from the house, her body numb. She found herself back on the rooftops searching for shelter for the night. On a building across from Stark Tower, she took refuge under an awning that covered electrical boxes.

She brought her knees up to her chest shivering as a breeze cooled her rain soaked clothes.

She curiously looked over to Stark Tower and peered into the window. She saw the Avengers happily celebrating something and a surge of jealously flow through her. She had never had something like that. Her birthday was usually celebrated briefly on Asgard with a small group, but nothing more. She didn't have friends; only enemies.

She hurriedly wiped away a few tears and hugged her knees tighter. She was alone.

So she quietly watched the party; picturing in her mind that it was for her and let sleep take her over.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N:Here is the semi-reunion everyone has been wanting! Now Tony may seem a little OOC in this chapter, but just go with it. When I wrote this chapter I thought to myself "If I was a parent and the child I thought was dead was suddenly not...how would I react?" So keep that in mind as you read :)

Don't forget my fabulous reviews!

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Chapter 3

By some strange coincidence, Tony had the Tower to himself for the day. The kids were at school and the others were out working. He padded up on to the roof in his slippers and pajamas with a cup of coffee in hand. He wanted to check out the area where he had seen his attacker the night before.

His arm stung slightly, but it wasn't the worse he'd had. He sipped his coffee, deeply inhaling the comforting scent as he observed the rooftop.

As he had expected, the rain had washed away any evidence. He sighed and leaned against the air conditioner, staring out in the direction the archer had sped off in. He hadn't got much sleep. He couldn't erase the woman from his mind.

There was just something about her that gave him the tiniest flicker of hope.

He scanned the neighboring rooftops and paused for a moment on a figure curled up under an awning. He watched the figure shift and stretch, looking around.

A small smile crept onto Tony's face. He walked over to the ledge towards the figure.

"Good Morning!" he called out causing the woman to jump.

She immediately had her bow in hand ready to shoot.

"You missed me once, you want to try again?" he asked in amusement.

She fired a shot right past his left ear.

Tony chuckled, "Easy, Hunger Games. If you want something hot, the door's open. No tricks, I promise."

The woman stood still.

Tony shook his head and retrieved the arrow before going back to the elevator. He rode back down to his floor, examining the arrow in his hand. It wasn't anything like Clint's arrows. It was pitch black, nothing special, and feather light. He set it down on the counter and went to refill his cup.

He turned around and found the woman, who was actually more of a girl, shivering in front of the elevator. Her bow was strung over her chest and she held her hands in fists at her sides.

"You hungry?" Tony asked taking a sip of his coffee.

The girl nodded slightly.

"Come sit, I'll fix some eggs," Tony said motioning to the bar stool at the counter.

The girl hesitated for a moment, but then took a seat.

Tony quietly began to work on the eggs. He dumped the finished steaming product on a plate and set it down in front of her.

"So Red, why'd you try to kill me?" he asked leaning casually against the counter.

The girl paused from stuffing her face.

"Orders," she replied.

"I'd take it you got in trouble for failing then?" Tony continued.

The girl nodded.

"You can get cleaned up here," Tony said taking the now empty plate away.

"I'm fine," she said quickly.

"Yeah, says the girl soaking wet and shivering. Just take a hot shower and take some warm clothes," Tony said.

He led her into the massive bathroom and went to grab some of Amelia's clothes.

He gave them to the girl and left her to clean up. He sat down on the couch in the living room waiting for her to finish. 15 minutes later, the girl reemerged in now dry clothes.

Tony took a moment to really observe her features.

She wasn't very tall but was most certainly skinny. He could tell she had great muscle tone. Her face was soft, but held a certain amount of sadness. Her red curls fell just above her elbows. He tried to meet her gaze, but she turned away.

"Feel better?" he asked standing up.

"Yes, thank you," she said fiddling with the hem of the shirt.

There was an awkward silence where neither knew what to say.

"Why are you being so kind to me?" she finally asked still looking down.

"That's what good people do," Tony replied.

"I tried to kill you," she said softly.

"And you didn't," Tony said.

The girl sighed and walked over to the mantel. She reached out and touched a picture of Tony, Pepper, Amelia, and Anthony.

"Is this your family?" She asked tracing each person's outline.

"Yes it is," Tony replied crossing over to her.

"They are very pretty. I don't have a family," she said.

"Everyone has a family somewhere," Tony said softly.

The girl looked up at Tony, her eyes finally meeting his own.

She smiled softly, "You are too kind, Mr. Stark."

Tony's heart shattered as he stared back into the girl's mesmerizing stormy grey eyes.

He hadn't seen those eyes in 18 years.

"Stay here," Tony choked out.

The girl looked at him confused.

"It's safe here and as long as you don't try to kill us it's okay," Tony rambled.

"Just for now?" she asked shifting nervously.

"Yeah, till you're stable again; you know get some rest and all," Tony explained.

"Alright, thank you Mr. Stark," the girl replied with a nod.

"Call me Tony. Mr. Stark makes me feel really old," Tony said.

The girl chuckled, "Okay, Tony."

She began to walk away and Tony's brain screamed.

"Hey Red, can I do something you might find really strange?" he asked quickly.

The girl paused and gave him a look, "Okay," she said slowly.

Cautiously, Tony wrapped his arms around the girl and pulled her close to his chest, holding her tight. He felt how tense she was under his embrace, she probably had never been hugged.

But to his surprise, she gently returned the gesture relaxing slighting.

He pulled away and cleared his throat.

"Thanks," he choked.

"No problem, it was nice," she replied.

"I'll take you to the guest room," he said trying to keep himself together.

Once in the room, she sat down on the bed running her hands over the comforter.

"I'll just be out here," he said starting to close the door.

"Tony," she called out causing him to pause.

"Hmm?"

"Thank You," she said.

"You're welcome, get some rest," he said before closing the door.

He couldn't hold it back any longer. He practically ran to his room and collapsed on the floor into a shaking sobbing mess.

She was alive. Lucy Charlotte Barton was alive.


	4. Chapter 4

A/n: holy cow! I got so many reviews! Im glad you guys really enjoyed that last chapter. Well Here is another reunion chapter (the next few are going to be reunion chapters ending with the big one, remember nat and clint are out on a mission).

Keep this reviews a coming! they truly make me smile everytime :)

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Chapter 4

A while later, Tony finally managed to pull himself up off the floor. He shuffled into the bathroom and searched for his supply of eye drops to clear his red puffy eyes. He splashed his face with some cold water then leaned heavily on the sink.

He stared back at his reflection trying to push down the feelings that threatened to bubble up once more. He glanced quickly at the clock and frowned. Everyone would be home in a few minutes.

He quietly crept towards the guest bedroom, praying that he hadn't imagined Lucy. He slowly pushed opened the door and peered in. Sure enough, curled up in the middle of the bed was Lucy. She hadn't bothered to pull back the comforter or lay on a pillow. Her long red curls had dried and were splayed out behind her. The position was all familiar; it was how she had slept when she was a baby.

Tony shuffled in and picked up one of the spare blankets. He carefully draped it over her sleeping form and backed away into the hallway. Lucy shifted slightly and pulled the blanket tighter around her. Tony smiled and closed the door. He walked back into the living just as the elevator dinged announcing Pepper's arrival.

Pepper, Amelia, and Anthony poured out the elevator, each greeting Tony as they went by. The kids retreated to their rooms and Pepper collapsed on the couch.

"How was your day?" Tony asked trying to act natural.

"Exhausting, we grabbed a bite to eat on the way if you don't mind. It was getting a little late," Pepper said getting up and planting a kiss on Tony's cheek.

"It's cool. Those two are typically starving by now," Tony said.

"How was your day?" Pepper asked toeing off her heels and picking them up.

Tony quickly glanced down the hallway then back to Pepper, "It was good; nice and quiet."

Pepper yawned, "That's good. I'm gonna go shower then call it a night. Don't stay up too late."

Tony chuckled, "You know me too well, dear."

He waited until he heard the sound of the master bedroom door closing before quickly rushing back to the quest bedroom. He had to move Lucy to where she wouldn't be found.

He hated waking her up though. He gently shook Lucy. She woke with a start, quickly swatting away his arm. Her eyes were hard and her body tense.

"Easy Red, you just need to get up," Tony said softly.

Lucy shook her head and ran a hand through her hair. "M'kay, I'm up."

"Good, follow me!" Tony said quickly ushering her to the elevator. He panicked and punched the button for Steve's floor, praying that the solider wasn't home yet.

Unfortunately, he was wrong. Steve stared at Tony with a confused look.

"Um, yes?" Steve asked glancing from Lucy to Tony.

"I need her to stay down here for now," Tony said nodding to Lucy.

"And who is she?" Steve questioned crossing his arms.

Tony turned to Lucy, "Hold on a second." He walked over to Steve and pulled him into the kitchen.

"Tony, what's going on?" Steve asked in low voice.

"So the archer that attacked me, she came back," Tony explained softly.

"Tony, what the?!" Steve exclaimed.

"Shhhh! It's okay. I promise! Look at her Steve," Tony said.

Steve rolled his eyes and looked over at the girl still standing where they had left her. She was looking around the room curiously, but stood as stiff as a board.

"I'm looking," Steve sighed.

"Who does she remind you of?" Tony asked.

Steve groaned, "She looks like a soldier. Someone who is trained to kill. What is she doing here?"

"Look closer, Rodgers!" Tony pressed.

Steve let out a long breath. He observed the girl closer, trying to suppress the growing feeling in his chest.

He took in her red hair, long thin body, facial features, and finally her eyes. He turned to Tony. "You've lost your mind. It's not possible," Steve hissed.

"God, Steve it's her. Just talk to her. You know I suck at conversations. Get to know her while I talk to Bruce," Tony said.

Steve looked back at Lucy. Her very being made his heart hurt. It had taken him so long to get over her death. He had been the one that had carried Natasha out of the Red Room while she was in labor. He had gotten to feel Lucy move when Clint had not. He could still hear the little girl giggling and calling him 'Seeve'. Seeing what could be that same little girl now at 19 years old was too much.

But he nodded at Tony, "Okay, but I'm calling Coulson in on this."

"Coulson was watching over Nat and Clint's mission," Tony said.

"He'll come home for this," Steve replied.

Tony nodded and walked back over to Lucy, "You are gonna hang out with Cap for a bit okay. I got to go do the whole father thing."

"Okay, I'll behave," Lucy said rolling her eyes.

"No attitude young lady," Tony scolded playfully.

Lucy chuckled, "Yes, sir."

She looked over at Steve and smiled. He smiled back and shifted his weight from foot to foot. This was going to be interesting.

"You can sit down," Steve said gesturing to the couch as Tony disappeared.

Lucy nodded and shuffled over to the couch. "Are you hungry?" Steve asked.

"I'm fine," Lucy replied sitting down.

As if on cue, her stomach growled loudly.

Steve chuckled, "What would you like?"

"I'll have whatever. I eat what's available," she replied.

"Do you have a favorite food?" he asked leaning on the kitchen counter.

"I like soup," Lucy said softly.

"Okay, I can do soup. What kind?" he asked heading over to the pantry.

"Tomato," she replied.

"Tomato soup coming right up," Steve said.

"So you are Steve Rodgers," Lucy said turning around and facing him.

"Yes ma'am," Steve replied stirring the soup.

"I'm sorry I shot at you," she apologized.

"Just don't do it again," he said with a small laugh.

"I won't,"

There was a pause for a moment. Steve took a breath and poured the soup into a bowl.

"It's ready," he said softly.

Lucy came up to the counter and peered down at the bowl. "Thank you."

Steve watched her carefully as she ate.

"Why did you shoot at us anyways?" Steve blurted out immediately regretting it.

Lucy's face fell, "Loki asked me to. I didn't want to. My target was only Stark, not you."

Steve's throat clenched, "Loki?"

"Yes, Loki…He is, well was, what you would kind of call my guardian," Lucy explained before blowing on a spoonful of soup.

"Guardian? What do you mean by that?" Steve pressed.

"He took care of me for as long as I could remember. He trained me to some degree," Lucy continued.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to pry," Steve said sensing her tension.

"I've never really told anyone about my life. No one has ever asked. If I could eat, I'll tell you whatever you want to know," Lucy said.

"Eat then we will talk," Steve agreed.

Lucy practically inhaled the soup. Once she finished, Tony came back and plopped down on the couch.

Lucy sat down in the recliner and faced the two men.

"I don't want you to feel like we are interrogating you," Steve said.

"But you are interrogating me. I fully expected this," she said simply.

For a moment, the two men saw a glimpse of her mother in the young woman. It was frightening and exhilarating feeling.

"Okay then, can I start out blunt?" Tony asked.

"Go for it," Lucy chuckled.

"Have you ever killed someone?"

"Yes, regrettably," she replied.

"Do we want to do this 20 questions style or do you just want to talk?" Steve asked glaring at Tony.

"I think it will be easier just for me to talk," Lucy said.

"We are all ears," Tony said sinking back into the couch.


	5. Chapter 5

A/n: I am so sorry for the delay in update. School has gotten pretty busy and finding time to write has become difficult. I do have up to chapter 8 written and have started on chapter 9 its just finding time to type them up and get them uploaded.

here is a little backstory on Lucy's life with Loki. Reviews are very encouraging...they push me to update quickerso reviwe review review!

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Chapter 5

Lucy pulled her legs up into the chair and rested her head on her knees.

"I actually am not sure where to begin," Lucy confessed meeting Tony's gaze.

Tony felt bad for the girl. He could tell she was scared. He smiled softly at her, "How long have you known Loki?"

"For as long as I can remember. I've been with him since I was very little. In a way, like I told Steve, he was my guardian," Lucy explained.

"Some guardian," Tony scoffed.

"He actually is. He was very protective of me at times," Lucy replied.

"So Loki raised you?" Steve asked.

"Yes and no. When I was little I spent a lot of time on Asgard. Loki would drop me off and leave for long periods of time. I stayed with a woman named Sif. She was the closest thing I ever had to a mother." Lucy said.

"Sif, we've met her!" Tony exclaimed.

"Who else have you met on Asgard?" Steve asked.

"The Warriors Three, Odin, and Frigga," Lucy replied.

"Impressive," Tony said.

"If you say so, they are the closest thing I had to a family," Lucy said softly.

"What do you mean?" Steve pressed.

Lucy chuckled, "I have very fond memories with them. I use love sitting with Frigga and Sif listening to stories. They would braid my hair and I would fall asleep in the mountains of pillows. When Loki would leave secretly at the palace, I would run around with the Warriors pretending to be one of them. Fandral liked to use me to attract women, which Sif frowned upon. Volstagg always made sure I had plenty of food, whatever kind I wanted. Hogun taught me how to use a sword and bow and arrow. I saw very little of Odin, but when I did he was always very warm and kind. None of them ever questioned where I came from."

"So Loki would just drop you off and disappear?" Tony asked incredulously.

"Yes, but he would come back. He was very intimidating, but at the same time he had his fatherly moments," Lucy said.

Tony snorted, "Loki being fatherly?"

"Yes, he had his moments. I have one memory with from when I was really young. I was frightened by a bad storm one night. I ran to him and curled up in his arms and he comforted me. He held me tight, stroked my hair, and whispered to me that I was safe and nothing bad was going to happen. As I got older he got more distant. I spent less and less time with Sif and more time training on my skills," Lucy continued.

"Skills?" Steve asked softly.

"I am trained in hand to hand combat as well as acrobatics and I can wield a sword, staff, and bow. I prefer the bow…obviously," Lucy said.

"That is so awesome…well medieval, but awesome," Tony said.

"I can teach you if you'd like," Lucy giggled.

"Cool," Tony said.

"Anyways, did you ever know your parents?" Steve asked.

Lucy's face fell, "No, I didn't. I've asked Loki about it before, but it always angered him so much. I never dared to press any further."

Tony and Steve were silent. It wasn't like there was a clear cut way to answer her.

"Have you ever had a dream that felt like it was a memory?" Lucy asked softly. She hugged her knees tighter to her chest.

Tony leaned forward, "Yeah, why?"

"I keep having this dream of these people. I never see their faces or hear their voices. The images are always blurred. The two most common figures are one man and one woman. The man has rough hands and is holding out a black bow. Every time I see him, I can smell leather and cookie dough. The woman has red hair, like me, and is so soft. She's always talking in another language or singing softly to me. She smells like flowers, leather, and gun powder. You probably think I'm crazy," Lucy said.

"You're not crazy," Tony choked out. He could feel the tears gathering in his eyes. He glanced over at Steve and saw he was having the same issue.

Lucy giggled, "The craziest part is that for some reason you two seem a little familiar. I'm actually surprised you haven't asked me one specific question."

"And what is that?" Steve asked.

"You two never asked what my name is," Lucy replied.

"I don't need to ask your name, I know it," Tony croaked.

Lucy looked taken back, "What do you mean?"

Tony ran a hand through his greying hair and sighed, "We've met before."

"I think I would know if I've met you two before," Lucy said her voice low.

The elevator dinged and Coulson casually strolled in. "Hey Stark, what's up, you sounded upset when…" Phil stopped short of the couch and looked from Lucy to Steve and Tony.

"This is why I wanted you to come," Tony said nodding in Lucy's direction.

Lucy slid her feet down off the chair and scooted forward. Her body tensed up in defense.

"What is going on here?" Lucy asked.

"You're name is Lucy…" Tony said. "Lucy Charlotte Barton to be more specific and we are your family."

Lucy froze; she tightened her grip on the arms of the recliner and glared at Tony.

"That's not funny," she said in a low voice.

"It wasn't meant to be funny! Your name is Lucy right?" Tony exclaimed.

"Yes," Lucy replied slowly.

"18 years ago Loki took a little girl from this tower, who looked exactly like you. Until now, we believed she was dead. You have no memory of your parents and have been with Loki for as long as you can remember. It fits! You are Lucy!," Tony exclaimed looking to Steve for support.

"We just need to calm down and take this slowly," Steve said trying to soothe the situation.

"This is too much," Lucy breathed.

For some reason, she looked at Coulson for help. The man had a calming aspect to his presence.

"We don't know if this really is Lucy until we run a DNA test," Phil said locking gazes with her. He knew very well, just by her eyes, that this was indeed Lucy Barton. She had her father's eyes no doubt and Phil knew them by heart. But for now, she was scared and confused. She had the same look in her eyes that Clint had when Phil has first approached him to join S.H.I.E.L.D.

"Until we can determine whether she is or not, she'll stay with me," Phil continued.

Lucy visibly relaxed.

Tony immediately turned on Phil, "Wait a minute, why is she going with you?"

"She's coming with me because I am the highest ranking agent here and is she is the Barton's daughter, I am their handler, which makes me her temporary guardian," Phil said firmly.

Tony pouted liked he was getting a toy taken away.

"Lucy, do you have anything to take with you?" Phil asked.

"Only my bow and suit," she replied.

"Tony, go grab them," Phil ordered.

Tony held up a duffle bag, her bow, and her quiver, "Already ahead of you."

He handed the bag to Lucy, who stood up and walked over to Phil.

"There are some extra clothes in there too," Tony said nodding to the bag.

"Thanks," She said looking down at her feet.

"Let's get going then," Phil said turning to the elevator.

Lucy quickly followed and gave Steve and Tony a small wave as the elevator doors closed.

Steve let out a long stream of air and turned to face Tony.

"This is not good," he mumbled.

Tony raised an eyebrow.

"Well, it's good that she's alive, amazing actually, but I'm talking about Loki," Steve clarified.

"When we find that bastard, I'm gonna kill him," Tony growled.

"I think Nat and Clint first dibs on that," Steve pointed out.

"Fair enough, let's go hunt some demigod, Cap," Tony replied clapping Steve on the back.

Steve smiled, "Right behind ya."


	6. Chapter 6

a/n: So i found a youtube video that is over 4 hours of Disney music and BAM! I got inspired to write again...yeah makes no sense to me either.

So voila! New chapter! This one is with Lucy and Phil, so enjoy. I just love Coulson's character.

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Chapter 6

The ride to Coulson's apartment was silent. Lucy kept her gaze focused on the world outside. Occasionally, Coulson would glance over at her but then quickly look back at the road.

Once they arrived at the building, Phil led her up to the top floor and into his small apartment.

"You can stay in the room on the left," he said pointing to the bedroom door.

"Thanks," Lucy mumbled shuffling over to the room. She dropped the duffle bag down at the foot of the full size bed and set her bow down on top of it.

"It's not much, but it's a nice escape from the military bunks S.H.I.E.L.D. offers," Phil said leaning on the door frame.

"It's great," she replied touching the bedspread. She looked up at Phil, "Do you believe what they said about me?" she asked.

Phil took a deep breath and crossed his arms, "I would like to."

"Can you explain?" Lucy asked looking down at her hands.

"I would like to believe that you are Lucy Barton because it would heal a big hole in my friends' hearts," Phil said crossing over to sit in the simple chair across from her.

"You know them?" Lucy asked.

"Your parents? Yes, they are very close friends," Phil replied.

"I hope I am the Lucy everybody thinks I am," Lucy said softly.

"I hope you are too," Phil said with a smile.

"I'm going to get some sleep, if that's okay?" she said.

"Oh yeah, that's fine. I'll just be out here if you need anything," he said getting up and leaving her.

He went to the hall closet and rooted around through the cardboard boxes till he found the one he was looking for. He dragged it out into the living room and used his pocket knife to cut the packing tape away.

He sighed deeply as he peered into the box's contents. He pulled out a photo album and set it down on the coffee table for later. Underneath the album was an assortment of baby clothes and toys.

He touched a blanket that was still soft after all these years. The only toys were a few stuffed animals, mainly birds. He picked up one and cradled it in his palm. He ran his thumb over one of the bird's wings smiling at the feeling of the matted texture. He could still see little Lucy sitting contently chewing away on the wing.

He set the bird back down and pulled the photo album into this lap.

For a good ten minutes, Phil just stared at the cover. He traced the intricate script that spelled out 'Lucy', mentally preparing himself for the memories the album held.

After Lucy had been declared dead, Clint had shown up at his doorstep with red puffy eyes with this box in his arms. The archer had mumbled something about it being too hard to look at these things, but he didn't want to get rid of them. Phil took the box and packed it away for his friend knowing the pain he was feeling.

Phil had opened his home to the grieving parents and they had taken him up on the offer for a month. Afterwards, they left and took refuge in Iowa at their secret home.

For months, Phil watched his two best friends suffer. Of course, he never would have thought Clint and Natasha would become parents, but when they did, they changed. That little girl became the center of their world; something worth fighting for.

When she was taken away, the assassins lost their fight. More than just a couple of times, he had heard both of them questioning why they were still alive. It was heartbreaking.

As time passed they healed, but Phil knew that they still hurt inside. If this girl was indeed Clint and Natasha's daughter, then maybe they would finally heal and be at peace.

Phil flipped open the cover of the album and smiled at the first picture.

It was of Natasha, Clint and a newborn Lucy on the Quinjet. After that were pages of Lucy sleeping on Clint or Natasha's chest or sleeping in her crib.

He flipped the pages and found pictures of Lucy with each Avenger. The little red head was just too adorable. He smiled at a particular picture of himself at Lucy's first birthday. He had been helping Natasha clean up after the cake and was holding an icing covered Lucy out at arm's length.

He began to turn the page, but paused. He heard a muffled sound come from the bedroom where Lucy was asleep. He waited a moment, trying to determine whether it was serious.

After a bit right as he looked back down, the noise came again. This time it was most definitely a scream. Phil jumped up, his heart racing as he bounded into the room, gun drawn. He quickly determined she was not in danger and stowed his gun.

Lucy lay tangled in the sheets, squirming and fighting herself.

She was mumbling, "Please, no, stop" over and over her eyes clenched shut.

Phil sat down on the bed and took her flailing arms in his hands trying to avoid being hit.

"Hey Lucy, Lucy wake up. You're okay," he said gently shaking her.

Lucy moaned and tried to pull away even harder. Phil brought one hand up and softly touched the side of her face.

"Lucy come on, sweetheart, wake up," he said a little louder. He gently patted the side of her face, still shaking her with his other hand.

After a minute, Lucy finally jerked awake breathing heavily. Her eyes searched around frantically before finally landing on Phil.

"Hey, you just had a nightmare, it's okay," he said softly.

He touched her hand gently and she fell apart into a sobbing mess in his arms.

Phil shifted his body to where he was leaning up against the headboard and held her shaking body close to his. He rubbed small soothing circles on her back and occasionally stroking her now matted, sweaty hair.

The two stayed like this for 30 minutes until Lucy's breathes finally became more steady and even. Phil looked down and smiled seeing she had fallen back asleep. He tried to shift her body off of his, but she only clung to his shirt and curled up even more.

Phil's heart leapt. Of course, the action was something most children did when they were scared or tired, but the way Lucy nuzzled her head was all too familiar. He managed to pull a blanket up over her and remove his gun and place it on the bedside table.

Out of the blue, he bent his head down and kissed the top of her head.

"Don't worry, Little Bird, Uncle Phil's got ya'," he whispered as he gave her a small squeeze allowing a glimmer of hope spread through his chest.

Once Phil was sure Lucy was asleep, he carefully slipped out of the room and left the door cracked so he could monitor her. She shuffled into his small kitchen and began to prepare a pot of tea.

His mind was a foggy mess with jumbled thoughts about the girl. In his heart, he wanted her to be Lucy Barton so bad, but his brain was throwing up the warning. He couldn't let his emotions get involved.

The tea pot whistled softly, grabbing his attention. He poured himself a steaming mug and retreated to the couch. He sighed as he sat down and sipped his tea. Tomorrow he would take Lucy back to the Tower to meet Bruce.

If anyone could tell if she really was the Barton's daughter it be would be Dr. Banner.

He glanced down at the box with the baby items. Lucy was the closest thing he had to a granddaughter.

His phone rang causing him to jump. He quickly answered in order to avoid waking Lucy up.

He cleared his throat then said, "Coulson."

"Hey old man, what's up?" came Clint's voice.

Phil's face paled; he hadn't expected to hear from the archer.

"Nothing much, just relaxing for the night," Phil answered setting his mug down.

"And you're probably drinking that shit you call tea," Clint chuckled.

Phil smiled, "You know me too well."

"Well, you tend to pick up on these things after all these years," Clint replied.

"Why'd you call Clint? Is something wrong?" Phil asked.

There was no reply.

"Clint?" Phil pressed.

"I'm here," Clint sighed. "I don't know, just had this feeling to call you."

"How's Natasha?"

"Good, she's sleeping. We're just wrapping this OP up then heading home," Clint replied.

"That's good,"

There was a moment of silence.

"Clint?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you okay?" Phil asked sensing he wasn't getting the full story.

"We're in Russia, Phil," Clint replied.

Phil sighed, he knew what that meant.

"What was the OP?" Phil asked knowing the archer would break protocol to tell him.

"Secret slave trade in the mountains; they were children," Clint said softly.

"And?" Phil urged.

"We got them all out. It's just Tasha's hurting and I can't help her. She's thinking of Lu," Clint explained.

Phil glanced over to where Lucy was sleeping; his hear clenching.

"It's okay, Clint. Things will be okay," Phil replied.

"I know, we just miss her," Clint croaked.

"I know,"

"I'll see ya when we get back okay?" Clint said, his voice shifting to a slightly happier tone.

"I look forward to it. Go get some sleep, Barton," Phil said.

"I will, Phil. See ya," Clint replied before hanging up.

Phil hung up and set the phone down. This was going to be difficult.

"I heard the phone ring," a small voice said behind him.

Phil turned around and found Lucy standing behind the couch rubbing her eyes.

"Sorry about that," Phil apologized.

"It's okay," She mumbled turning back towards the bedroom.

"Do you need something?" Phil asked.

"Nah, I'm good. Night Phil," Lucy said before slipping back into the room.

"Good Night, Lucy," Phil whispered after she left.

He got up and retreated to his own room. Sleep wouldn't be easy tonight, but it was something he most definitely needed.

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a/n: Okay you guys know the drill...REVIEW! I want to know what you guys thought. I hope nobody found the interaction between Phil and Lucy creepy... I thought it was sweet when i wrote it


	7. Chapter 7

A/n: oh the joys of college... I hate falling behind on my poor readers. So here is a little valentines day gift to you all... Enjoy and keep the reviews coming :)

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Chapter 7

Lucy was awake the moment the sunlight began to peak in through the shades.

She tiptoed out into the living room and noticed Phil had not gotten up yet. She glanced at the clock; it was only 5:30. She had plenty of time.

Quietly she exited the apartment and rode the elevator down. She slipped out of the lobby and out into the chilly morning air. She inhaled deeply and took off. Luckily, her destination was only a couple of blocks away. She ducked into an alley way and knelt behind the dumpster at the end.

Tucked away underneath a box was her leather back pack that she had stashed there before going to Stark Tower the first time. She slung the strap over her shoulder then began to head back to the apartment. She glanced at the clock in the lobby; she had only been gone for 30 minutes.

She flashed a smile at the desk monitor then continued up to the apartment. Just outside of the door, she took a deep breath and slowly turned the knob. To her surprise, Phil was awake and shuffling around in the kitchen.

Silently she prayed he had not realized her absence.

"Oh good, you're back. Breakfast is almost ready," Phil called out over his shoulder.

Lucy slumped her shoulders and sighed. She dropped her bag next to the couch and slid into one of the barstools.

"You get what you went out for?" Phil asked placing a plate of eggs and sausage down in front of her.

"Yeah, I did," she said with a sigh picking up a fork.

"Good," Phil replied with a smile.

"You're not mad?" Lucy asked poking at her eggs.

Phil chuckled, "You are not the first one that's done that."

"Thank you for breakfast," Lucy said offering Phil a small smile.

"No problem," He replied sipping his cup of coffee.

Lucy finished her meal quickly and then went to sit on the couch while Phil cleaned up. She pulled her bag onto her lap and rummage through its contents. Phil eventually came over and gave her a questioning look.

"So what have you got…if you don't mind me asking?" he said sitting down.

"Everything I own is in this bag," Lucy replied.

She pulled out a couple of shirts and a journal; nothing really special. It was the next items that got Phil's attention.

Lucy pulled out a small pistol and set it down on the coffee table.

"I can't always carry my bow," she explained.

Next was a necklace with a small golden bird on the chain.

"It was a gift from Frigga on Asgard,"

"It's beautiful."

Lucy smiled. The last item caused Phil to stop breathing monetarily. She pulled put a pale yellow blanket that looked pretty old.

"I'm told it's my baby blanket. Loki kept it. He said that's the only reason he knew my name. It's embroidered on it," Lucy explained showing Phil the corner.

Phil cleared his throat nervously and smiled. His mind went to the box he had put away early this morning with an exact replica of the blanket in it. That wasn't a detail that could be easily copied.

"It's not much, but it's all mine," Lucy said pulling Phil out of his thoughts.

He watched her shove everything back into the leather bag.

"So I have quite a few meetings today. I figured you could just hang out at the Tower till tonight," Phil said.

Lucy nodded, "Okay."

The two continued the rest of the morning in silence.

Phil found himself at a loss for words. After seeing the blanket, he was doing everything he could to keep himself from bursting into tears.

When they arrived at Stark Tower he led Lucy up to the meeting floor then left quickly.

Lucy didn't think much about the man's haste. She plopped down on the couch and picked up one of the books on the coffee table.

She began to flip through the pages absent mindedly, not really taking in the images.

"Hello."

Lucy slammed the book shut and snapped up to face the location from which the sound came from.

She found a man standing just outside elevator smiling softly at her.

He was a little younger looking than Phil. He wore glasses that were perched on the end of his nose. His button up shirt and slacks were very relaxed and his salt and pepper hair was disheveled. He had a welcoming feeling that caused Lucy to relax her shoulders slightly.

"I didn't mean to startle you. Phil told me you were her. You must be Lucy," the man said.

Lucy nodded.

"I'm Dr. Banner, you can call me Bruce though," the man continued.

"You're the Hulk," Lucy said softly.

Bruce chuckled, "Yes, I am."

"I'm assuming you're my babysitter for the day," Lucy said giving him a small smile.

"In a way, yes. If you would come with me, we'll go up to my floor.

Lucy nodded and followed Bruce up to his floor.

"I'm working in the lab if you don't mind," Bruce said.

"Not at all," Lucy replied.

She stared in awe at the massive size of the lab. There were so many computers that she couldn't even imagine what they were all for. She sat down on a stool and turned her attention to Bruce who had begun to work at a table.

"You have most certainly gotten Tony's attention and now it seems Coulson likes you too," Bruce started while he flipped through pages on a clipboard.

"Yeah, I guess I have." Lucy replied softly.

She watched Bruce pick up a syringe. "Do you mind if I take a blood sample? It would be the easiest way to figure this out."

"Go for it. I'm just as curious as all of you now," Lucy shrugged.

Bruce smiled and made quick work of taking the sample.

"So tell me, you have no memory of your parents?" Bruce asked.

"No, I don't, but…" Lucy started.

"But what?" Bruce questioned.

"Being here, in the Tower, feel familiar. Kind of like déjà vu," Lucy explained.

"Interesting," Bruce mumbled.

"I have these dreams with people I don't recognize. The most common one is with a man and woman. Both feel so comforting; it's strange," Lucy said.

"Maybe they aren't dream, but early memories," Bruce suggested as he set up the blood sample to be analyzed.

Lucy shrugged and watched Bruce load her blood into one of his machines.

"How long will it take before you get results?" she asked.

"A couple of hours," Bruce replied.

"Is there anything I could help with?" Lucy asked.

"Um, well, not at the moment, but I may in a bit," Bruce said with a smile.

Lucy found that she was quite content just watching the doctor work. She was mesmerized as he nimbly handled different chemicals.

"Father," a woman called out, catching Lucy's attention.

She hadn't noticed the woman enter the lab.

The woman embraced Bruce and gave him a quick kiss on his cheek.

"You're home early," Bruce said.

"I know, I finished up quickly, "the woman explained.

"I'm glad," Bruce replied.

Lucy watched the two interact with great interest. The woman was beautiful. She appeared to be older than herself. She had long dark hair that was pulled back into a ponytail. Her skin was quite pale with a little tan. She was exotic compared to Bruce.

"Who are you?" the woman asked turning to Lucy.

"She's our guest. Lucy this is my daughter, Anya," Bruce answered.

"Lucy?" Anya questioned raising an eyebrow.

"She's working with Coulson," Bruce added quickly.

"Ah, that's nice. I have to go debrief. I just want to stop by and see you first," Anya said turning back to her father.

"I appreciate it. I'll see you for dinner, right?" Bruce replied.

"Of course," Anya smiled and turned to leave. She gave Lucy a small nod of acknowledgement before exiting.

"Your daughter is beautiful," Lucy said after a while.

"Thank you. She's actually my adopted daughter. She's Russian," Bruce replied smiling softly to his self.

"That's awesome. Is she an Avenger?" Lucy asked.

"No, but she is a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. She's been gone for a couple months so it was nice to see her safe." Bruce explained.

"Ah, that's good," Lucy replied softly. She rocked slightly back and forth on her stool. "Um, where's the bathroom?" she asked trying to break the awkward silence that had settled.

"Down the hall, second door on the right," Bruce replied.

Lucy nodded and hopped down off the stool. She quickly walked out of the lab and turned smack into something solid. She felt two strong hands on her shoulders, steadying her.

"I am sorry," the man apologized.

Lucy's eyes went wide. Despite having spent many years on Asgard, she had never come face to face with Thor.

"It's okay," Lucy squeaked before ducking around him and fleeing down the hall and into the bathroom.

She braced herself on the sink and closed her eyes. Her head was spinning. Meeting Bruce's daughter had caused a flare of jealousy in her chest; jealousy for the relationship between the father and daughter. Running into Thor had Loki's words nagging at the back of her mind urging her to stay away from the demigod like she had been taught. She shook her head; she was tired of hiding, of ducking into shadows to avoid people.

She quietly opened the door and peeked out finding the hallway clear. Slowly she walked back towards the lab keeping her hearing trained for the sound of Thor's voice.

She paused outside of the lab and listened.

"Who is the girl?" she heard Thor ask.

"She's working with Coulson," Bruce replied simply.

"She seems familiar. Has she been here before?" Thor asked.

"No, she hasn't. Coulson had meetings so she is just hanging out here till he's done," Bruce explained.

"Hmm," Thor mumbled.

"Don't think too much of it my friend; she's just a girl," Bruce assured.

"Nobody comes to the Tower, especially onto our personal floors. Forgive me for be curious," Thor replied.

"Like I said, she's just a girl," Bruce said.

Lucy figured it was safe to enter now. Thor nodded to her before taking his leave.

Once she was sure the god was out of ear shot, Lucy turned to Bruce.

"Why have you lied about why I'm here?" Lucy asked.

Bruce sighed deeply," There's no need to create a big uproar until we know more."

Lucy nodded in agreement.

The hours seemed to fly by after Thor's visit. Lucy watched Bruce work around the lab. Occasionally, she would glance over at the machine working on her blood sample.

She became so wrapped up in the scientist's work; she did not notice Phil had entered the lab.

"Are you ready to go?" Phil asked, startling Lucy.

"You're back," Lucy observed.

"Yeah, wrapped things up in time for dinner, so if you're ready to go," Phil replied.

Lucy nodded and slid off the stool to join Phil.

"Thank you, Bruce," Phil said.

"No problem, she was no bother," Bruce said smiling.

Phil and Lucy left and headed back to the apartment.

While Phil began to cook, Lucy sat at the breakfast bar just observing. She spotted a photograph half cover by a stack of papers. While Phil's back was turned, she quickly pulled the photo free and set it down in front of her.

In the photo were three people; a man, a woman, and Phil. The three appeared to be at some part based on the background decorations. The man had dirty blonde hair and strong features. His smile, however, softened his toughness. She frowned slightly at the similarity between his stormy grey eyes and her own. The woman was very beautiful. She had bright red hair and piercing green eyes that complemented her ivory skin. Phil stood in between the two, an arm around their shoulders pulling the two closer. They looked so happy.

Her concentration was broken when Phil set down a plate of spaghetti in front of her.

Lucy looked up at him and sheepishly handed him the photo.

"Sorry," she apologized looking back down at the plate.

"It's okay," Phil replied. He chuckled and rubbed his chin. "Wow, that's an old photo. Not a lot of grey hair back then," he said.

"Who are they?" Lucy asked twirling her fork in the pasta.

Phil leaned against the counter and sighed, "This is Clint and Natasha, supposedly your parents."

Lucy set her fork down and took a deep breath, "Tell me about them."

"Not right now, after dinner," Phil replied setting the photo down and picking up his own plate.

The two ate in silence. Once the plates were cleared, Lucy slipped into the bedroom to change into more comfortable clothes for the evening. She rummaged through the duffel bag and found a pair of blue flannel pajama pants and a white tank top. Once dressed, she pulled her hair back into a loose ponytail then went back out to the living room.

Phil was sitting in the armchair holding a mug. Another identical mug sat on the coffee table.

Lucy sat down on the couch and folded her legs under herself.

"I made you some tea," Phil said gesturing to the mug.

Lucy smiled and picked the mug up smelling its contents. She cautiously took a sip and grimaced.

"It's kind of bitter," she said swallowing her mouthful.

Phil chuckled, "I brought sugar." He handed her a couple of sugar packets.

Lucy gratefully dumped the sugar into her mug and stirred it with the spoon Phil also provided. She tested the tea again and nodded, "Better."

"Clint hates this tea, unless he had tons of sugar; has sort of a sweet tooth," Phil said.

Lucy took another sip and set the mug down.

"Tell me more," she said adjusting her legs.

"There's a lot to tell. Where do you want to begin?" Phil asked.

"When did you meet them?" she asked.

"I met Clint first. I actually recruited him for S.H.I.E.L.D. He was actually a little younger than you; 17 years old and a perfect marksman. He was just going down the wrong path and I gave him an out," Phil started.

He watched Lucy shift. Her eyes flickered with excitement. This was probably the first time she had ever heard anything about her parents.

"I met Natasha after a mission. You have to understand that Clint and Natasha's relationship is quite unique. Clint was sent to kill Natasha, obviously, he made another call. I still don't know what stopped him. He brought her back, raised hell with Director Fury, and got her into training. Maybe a year later, they became partners." Phil continued.

"They've been together for a long time," Lucy pointed out.

"Pretty much; they are S.H.I.E.L.D.'s top team," Phil said.

"Will I get to meet them?" Lucy asked softly.

"In time, yes," Phil replied.

"You want to make sure I'm really their daughter," Lucy said.

"Yes, understood that if we told them and you weren't their daughter it would be extremely painful," Phil explained.

"What happens if I'm not?" Lucy mumbled.

"That's up to you. You can stay or you can leave. I can most certainly offer you a position at S.H.I.E.L.D.," he replied.

Lucy smiled at Phil. She didn't understand why this man was so kind to her, but at the same time she didn't really care.

"Thank you, Phil," she said.

"Go get some rest. You look exhausted." Phil said nodding towards the bedroom.

"Sounds like a plan," Lucy yawned and stood up. She stretched and bent to pick up her mug.

"Go, I'll get it," Phil added with a warm smile.

Lucy nodded and shuffled into the room, closing the door behind her. Phil sighed and picked up Lucy's mug, carrying it to the kitchen. As he set the mugs down in the sink his cellphone began to vibrate in his pocket.

He quickly flipped it open and answered, "Coulson."

"Phil," came Bruce's voice. He sounded tired and a bit worried.

"Bruce, what's up?" Phil asked. He heard Bruce take a deep breath.

"It's her, Phil. The girl is Lucy."

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A/n: the reunion is very close my friends! Tell me what you thought!


	8. Chapter 8

A/n: and here we go :) Clint and Natasha are back!

Reviews Please!

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Chapter 8

Phil didn't sleep that night. He was too busy coming up with a way to tell Clint and Natasha that their daughter, their sweet baby girl, was alive. He knew that he needed to intercept the two at S.H.I.E.L.D. As soon as Lucy had woken up, he had got her breakfast quickly then dropped her off at the Tower in Tony's care. In hindsight, he probably shouldn't have left her with Tony, but that didn't matter now.

Now the anxious agent sat in the debriefing room at S.H I.E.L.D. headquarters waiting for Clint and Natasha to return. The wait was killing him. He his eyes stayed fixed on the door for the two agents to walk in. He straightened his tie for no reason and glanced down at his watch; they should be back by now.

Phil sighed and slumped down in his chair a little. He closed his eyes for a moment only to have to open them again at the sound of the door opening.

He was immediately greeted by the smell of fast food hamburgers and fries, making him smile. Clint shuffled in looking half awake and nursing whatever soda was in his cup. The weary archer set the bag of food down on the table and gratefully collapsed in one of the chairs.

"Clint, I…" Phil started but was cut off by Clint raising his hand.

"We'll talk after I have some food," Clint grumbled as he unwrapped his burger.

Phil huffed and turned to Natasha who came shuffling in as well. She looked just as tired as Clint.

"Hey Coulson, it's good to see you," Natasha sighed walking over to their former handler and hugging him.

Phil happily returned the gesture and hugged her just a bit tighter than normal; the anxiety of telling about Lucy bubbling over slightly.

Natasha pulled away first and went to sit next to her husband. She pulled out the container of fries and lazily munched away.

"You guys been debriefed yet?" Phil asked sitting back down as well.

"Yeah, Fury talked to us already. He told us you were the welcoming home committee and to see you," Clint replied taking a long sip of his drink. "I still hate Russian food, Tasha. Seriously, we are never going back for long periods of time again."

"You're just a big baby," Natasha retorted rolling her eyes. "Why the welcome back, Phil? Usually we just meet you at the Tower."

"I know it's been awhile, just wanted to see you two before you were ambushed by the kids." Phil replied.

The corner of Natasha's mouth curled up in a small smile. "We're both glad to see you. We're just exhausted; getting a bit too old for this crap."

"Come back to my place for a bit and I'll cook you a good warm meal," Phil offered trying to come up with a way to keep them away from the Tower.

"You gonna cook the good stuff?" Clint asked chuckling.

"Of course," Phil replied.

"I'm in. A nice quiet dinner sound very appealing," Clint decided crumpling up his burger wrapper.

Natasha gave Phil an approving nod.

"Come on then, let's get go home," Phil said standing up and holding the door open.

As he watched the two tired agents gather their things and walk out the door, he felt his chest swell with excitement. They were one step closer.

* * *

Tony had had to run off to some meeting, leaving Lucy all alone on his floor with just the TV for entertainment. After a couple of episodes of Cake Boss, boredom started to set in.

For some reason, she had a strong urge to explore the Tower. Following her gut, she boarded the elevator and stared at the buttons for the different floors. The top floors had symbols for each Avenger. She had already been on Steve, Bruce, and Tony's floors and didn't dare go to Thor's, so that left one. She pressed the button with the little hawk and spider on it and took a deep breath.

Hawkeye and Black Widow's floor was homey. There were the typical little piles of clutter throughout the living room that made her smile. Even the Avengers have messy homes.

On the coffee table she found various magazines about cooking, outdoor activities, foreign travel, and a couple about archery. For a moment her mind went to her bow back in Phil's apartment.

She turned to look at the kitchen and found it was similar to Phil's. They had a pile of mail and scraps of paper here and there. All the little details made the floor feel lived in.

After the kitchen she decided to check out the mantel, remembering that was where Tony had kept photos. Indeed there were a few frames, but not as many as Tony.

In the first frame was a picture of the two agents on what looked to be their wedding day. Next to them were Steve, Tony, and Tony's wife Pepper. The second frame held a copy of the photo that she had found on Phil's counter the previous night. The third frame was a picture of another man and woman with their daughter and son; all smiling happily back at her. The fourth frame, however, was empty. Lucy furrowed her eyebrows confused as to why they would display an empty frame.

Her attention was then drawn to a new sound that echoed down the hallway. She froze in her spot praying that someone was not home, but the sound didn't sound like human footsteps…more like that of an animal.

Slowly and lazily, a massive black dog padded out into the living room. The dog paused for a moment and lifted its head sniffing around.

Lucy felt her blood run cold. Knowing that both Clint and Natasha were assassins probably meant that this dog could very well be a guard dog. After a few excruciating seconds the dog caught her scent and went to investigate. Lucy stood still as a statue as the dog thoroughly sniffed her over; its fluffy fur tickling the bare skin on her arms.

Just when she was sure she was a goner, the dog sat down and looked up at her expectantly with big brown eyes. Its tail was wagging, making a soft thumping noise against the floor. Cautiously, Lucy reached out and patted the dog's head. In turn the dog nuzzled her hand and encouraged her on. Lucy finally relaxed and scratched the dog behind the ears affectionately before heading down the hallway.

The first door she chose to enter, she probably shouldn't have entered. It was the master bedroom. Almost immediately she closed the door back to where it was and moved on. The most curious room she found was at the end of the hallway. It too was cracked open so she could just step inside.

It was an indoor shooting range. On the table right inside the door she spotted a bow. She knew she probably shouldn't touch it, but decided against her better judgment. Skillfully, Lucy slung the quiver across her back and picked up the bow. The cool metal felt oddly familiar, as did the room. She shook off the paranoia and nocked an arrow, pulling the string back in one fluid motion. She took a deep breath aimed at the target at the very back of the room and let go.

The arrow sailed through the air and landed perfectly in the center with a thunk.

* * *

Phil couldn't help but watch Natasha and Clint all through dinner. Little did they know that at that very moment their daughter was alive.

He cleared the plates despite Natasha's protesting and readied himself for the journey back to the Tower. Once they were in the car, he continued the small talk from dinner just to fill the silence.

"So the twin's party went great," Phil started glancing in the rearview mirror for their reaction.

"Good! I hated that we had to miss it this year. I'm sure Tony went all out as usual," Natasha replied.

"Yep, kids had a great time. Oliver is doing well in school too," Phil continued shifting into discussing the children.

"He's a good kid, very smart. I'm not surprised." Clint replied.

"Anya is back from her assignment as well. She finished up early according to Bruce," Phil said.

"I bet that made his day having her come home early," Natasha said softly.

"Whenever anybody comes home it's nice," Phil replied.

"If they come home," Clint mumbled earning himself a punch in the shoulder.

He glared at Natasha who gave him a stern look telling him to cool it.

Phil gulped at pulled into the parking garage, "Well here we are, home sweet home."

* * *

Lucy reached back into the quiver for another, but her hand only met air. She frowned and walked back over to the table and set the bow down. Slowly she went to retrieve the numerous arrows that filled the targets, each one precisely on their mark.

After she had collected them all, she arranged them back to the way they had been and crept out of the room. It felt good to be able to shoot again. The sport had always been cathartic.

Lucy found the dog lying in the hallway just outside the door snoring softly. She patted it on the head and tiptoed back towards the elevator. She pressed the button to go down to Tony's floor and waited.

As soon as the doors open she stepped forward running straight into another person. She stumbled back and looked up; an apology on the tip of her tongue.

However, the apology never made it out of her mouth once she saw who she had run into. Standing before her was none other than Clint Barton, Natasha Romanoff, and Phil Coulson all looking equally confused and shocked as she was.

* * *

A/n: mwahahahahaha tell me what you thought :)


	9. Chapter 9

a/n: Ok here is the chapter you all have so patiently waited for :) I expect a ton of reviews on what you guys thought and whats gonna happen next :)

* * *

Chapter 9

Lucy was the first to speak. "I'm sorry, I…um…just got turned around," she stuttered.

Natasha stiffened next to Clint as she looked over the girl that stood before her. Clint looked down and noticed a reddening patch on the girls arm.

"Been using my bow?" he questioned looking back up at her.

Lucy gulped, "I'm sorry," she all but whispered.

A silence fell over the group. Lucy fidgeted nervously, her eyes constantly darting to the elevator looking for an escape.

Seeing the rising tension, Phil took action.

He looked to Lucy and said, "Go down to Tony. I'll be down in a bit."

Lucy nodded and quickly retreated to the elevator. Once the door closed, Natasha turned on Phil.

"What game are you playing?" she hissed.

"I'm not. Why don't we sit and I'll explain," Phil said calmly.

"Explain?" Natasha growled dropping down onto the couch.

"Phil, what's going on? What did we miss?" Clint said his tone slightly strained.

"On the day of the twins' birthday, Tony discovered a disturbance on the roof. When he and Steve went to investigate they were attacked. Tony got grazed, but that's all. The next day he found his attacker," Phil explained.

"The girl?" Clint asked.

Phil nodded and continued, "He took her in and questioned her and that's how we have ended up in this situation. Tony believed she was Lucy."

"She's dead Phil. My daughter is dead," Natasha said in a low tone.

Phil's stomach twisted; this wasn't going as smoothly as he had hoped.

"We did a DNA test. It's her, Loki didn't kill her. Fury didn't kill her." Phil said.

The two agents were silent. After a while Clint spoke up, "You better go Phil."

Phil sighed and got up, "She's staying with me, just so you know. I'll talk to you two later after you've had some rest."

With that he left the two stunned agents and traveled down to Tony's floor.

He found Lucy sitting on the couch next to Tony. Tony looked up at Phil with a questioning look.

"They're back," Phil said with a small nod. He turned to Lucy, "Come on, it's time to go."

Lucy got up quickly and headed straight for the elevator.

Tony stood up and touched Phil's arm, "She saw them?"

Phil nodded, "They're pretty freaked out. I'm letting them cool off."

Tony sighed, "Alright, I'll see ya tomorrow."

The entire trip back to Phil's apartment was silent. As he heated up a plate of food from earlier, Phil noticed Lucy looked pale.

He set a plate down in front of her, but she just pushed it away.

"I'm not hungry," she mumbled.

Phil sighed, "That's not how I wanted you to meet them."

"It's my fault I was on their floor," Lucy grumbled.

"And I should have called ahead. It's okay. They are just exhausted; meeting you was…" Phil struggled to find the right word.

"Much; meeting me was too much. I get it," She finished.

"Don't worry they need to rest and it will be better," Phil assured her.

"How do you know that?" Lucy whispered.

Phil looked at her confused.

"This whole time I've imagined that they would welcome me with open arms. In reality, I should have considered the fact that they have lived 18 years without me. Why would they want me now? Now I'm too much," Lucy exclaimed.

She looked up at Phil, her eyes glistening with tears. The pain in her eyes made Phil's heart break.

She thought they didn't want her.

"Lucy," Phil said softly.

"I'm done for today. I'm going to bed," Lucy murmured getting up and retreating to her room.

Phil knew there was nothing her could do at the moment. So in defeat, he quietly cleared her plate and took refuge in his own room praying tomorrow would be better.

* * *

They didn't know how long they sat on the couch silence. Natasha repeatedly clenched and unclenched her fists, staring blankly down at them.

It wasn't possible. How could that girl be her precious little baby?

She had to admit that similarities between them were there. The girl had Natasha's hair and most certainly Clint's eyes. It was the concept that was hurting the most. So many years ago, Natasha had closed her heart off to the idea that her baby was alive. She had buried those feelings deep down to cope with the loss.

But now those feelings threatened to bubble up.

She looked up at Clint, whose expression was unreadable.

"Clint?" she croaked, her voice cracking and thick with the emotion she was desperately trying to hide.

Clint lent out a long breath and turned to look at his wife. His expression softend seeing how torn up Natasha looked.

"Nat," he whispered touching her hand softly.

The small contact was the breaking point. She broke into tears, collapsing into Clint's waiting arms. Clint held her tight to his chest, making no attempt to calm her. A few tears leaked out of the corner of his eye as he buried his face in Natasha's hair.

"It's her," Natasha managed to say in between sobs.

Clint kissed the top of her head, "I know," he whispered. "She's beautiful, Tasha. Just like I imagined."

Natasha chuckled slightly. She sat up and wiped away her tears.

"I want to sleep, Clint. I'm so tired," she whispered,

Clint gave her a small smile and picked her up in his arms. He carried her into their room and set her down gently on her side of the bed. Slowly, he stripped her of her clothes, kissing each part of skin he revealed. He left her in her underwear and stripped down to his boxers, crawling in next to her.

He pulled her close and nuzzled her head.

"Good night, Tash," he mumbled as he closed his eyes.

Natasha lightly kissed his chest, "Night," she replied before closing her eyes as well.

* * *

At 5 o'clock the next evening, Phil brought Lucy back to the Tower. The two stood in the parking garage just in front of the elevator in silence.

"Is it okay to be afraid?" Lucy asked softly.

"Yes, it's okay," Phil replied leaning forward and pressing the up button. Shortly after the elevator doors opened.

"I told Clint this morning that this was between the three of you, so I won't be there," Phil continued.

Lucy looked back in horror.

Phil chuckled, "They don't bite. Just take you backpack and this box and everything will be just fine." he handed her a medium sized cardboard box.

Lucy took a deep breath and stepped into the elevator. She pushed the button for her destination and waited.

As soon as the doors opened up, she was greet by the big black dog she had met the day before.

"Shadow, heel," Came a male voice.

The dog immediately backed up and sat down. Clint came into view and paused before taking the box out of Lucy's arms.

"Phil told me to bring that. I don't know what it is," Lucy said following Clint further into the living room.

Clint set the box down on the coffee table. "It's alright, I know what it is," he replied.

He turned around and took in the sight of the young woman before him. She had long way red hair; an exact copy of Natasha's from when she was younger. She was slightly shorter than he was and built like Natasha as well; long and lean. Her face however was soft and her skin the same tone as his. He looked into her eyes and saw his own stormy grey staring back.

This was his daughter. Every bit of doubt had now been wiped away.

"Are you okay?" she asked in concern.

Clint shook his head, "Sorry. I'm just trying to comprehend all of this. It's hard to look at the young woman who was just a baby last time I saw her," he said softly. He reached up daring…no, needing…to touch her; to make this all real. He touched her cheek and smiled.

"I know those eyes," he whispered.

Lucy smiled and looked back at the man who was her father. Just this small exchange felt familiar and comforting.

"Clint, is she here yet?" Natasha called out as she came down the hall.

She froze once she caught sight of them. Clint turned and smiled brightly at Natasha. He held out his hand towards her.

Lucy felt the nervousness return as Natasha walked towards her. Natasha was more intimidating than Clint. She felt herself being examined by the red head, causing her heart to race.

Natasha stepped forward and placed her hands on Lucy's shoulders. After a moment of debating, she finally let all of her feelings go. Natasha pulled Lucy into her arms and held her tight. She smiled as Lucy slipped her arms around her, returning the gesture. Natasha softly nuzzled Lucy's head and deeply inhaled.

Her chest swelled; she still smelled the same.

Lucy felt Clint join in the embrace and she smiled against Natasha's shoulder. Never before had she felt so safe in someone's arms.

After a moment, Shadow barked getting the family's attention.

Natasha pulled away and cleared her throat, "Right, um, I guess we should talk."

"I guess so," Lucy replied taking a seat on the couch.

Both Natasha and Clint sat down next to her.

"God, I want to know everything," Natasha breathed.

"I'll tell you whatever you want to know, but I would like to know some things about us. You know, before I disappeared," Lucy said.

"That's what is in this box," Clint said opening the flaps. He emptied the contents onto the table and spread them out.

Natasha looked up at Clint, "You kept this stuff?" she asked.

"I boxed it up and gave it to Phil for storage," Clint replied.

Lucy leaned forward and looked at the items. She touched the blanket then reached down into her back pack. She pulled out an exact copy, just more worn, causing Clint to smile.

"He kept it," he muttered.

Lucy nodded, understanding he was talking about Loki.

Lucy then picked up one of the stuffed animals. TI was a small stuffed bird that had obviously been loved.

"You loved stuffed animals, especially birds," Natasha said with a smile.

"That never changed. I had some when I was little," Lucy replied.

Clint picked up the photo album and opened it up on his lap. Lucy leaned back to get a better view.

"What's this?" she asked slightly leaning into Clint's shoulder.

Clint smiled, enjoying the contact. He hadn't expected her to be so open so quickly.

"This is all the pictures we have of you," Clint explained. His hand brushed over the first photo of the three of them right after Lucy had been born.

"Why aren't we in a hospital?" Lucy asked looking to her mother.

Natasha frowned slightly," While I was pregnant with you, I was held captive by a Russian assassin program that I had once belonged to. Your father got there just in time to be there for the birth."

"I was born in Russia?" Lucy asked in disbelief.

"Yep! In a jet in the middle of nowhere," Clint laughed.

Natasha chuckled, "Bruce delivered you."

"I like Bruce. I met him a few days ago. His daughter is very pretty," Lucy said.

"Anya came back on the same trip that rescued you and me; as did Lida, Steve's daughter," Natasha explained.

"You loved everyone in the Tower and everyone loved you. You were the first baby," Clint said.

"When Loki took you it hurt everyone," Natasha said softly.

Lucy furrowed her eyebrows and flipped through the photo album dedicated to her. On the last page there was a photo of the three of them in front of a Christmas tree, smiling like nothing was wrong in the world.

"Loki took me?" she asked softly.

Clint sighed, "Yes. He kidnapped you from the Tower and made us to believe you were dead,"

"He never hurt me," Lucy replied looking down at her hands. "We have two very different views of him. You two see him as the villain, but he was my guardian. I understand that what I had with Loki was built on lies, but I can't hate him."

"So did he raise you?" Natasha asked shifting in her spot.

"In a way, yes, and in a way, no," Lucy explained. "When I was very young it was just the two of us. I've always known he wasn't my father. As I got older, he would take me to Asgard every so often."

"How did Thor never notice that?" Clint asked.

"Loki made up a story of who I really was. To the people on Asgard I was an orphan. Loki would disguise himself and leave me at the palace while he went off." Lucy replied.

"He just left you?" Natasha hissed.

"No, I was never alone. I sort of in a way got adopted by the Warriors Three and the Lady Sif. When they were busy I usually would just follow Frigga around. I never seemed to bother them," Lucy continued.

"All this time you have been so close," Natasha whispered her eyes tearing up.

She knew they shouldn't have given up on looking for her. If only they had extended their search, then maybe they wouldn't have lost all those years.

Lucy noticed the sadness in her mother's face. She didn't want to make them cry. These two people loved her so much and she barely knew them.

"I've dreamed about you," Lucy said softly tilting her head down to make eye contact with Natasha.

Natasha's eyebrows scrunched together, giving Lucy a questioning look.

"And you too," Lucy added turning to Clint.

"What do mean?" Clint asked slowly, debating on whether he really wanted to know the answer.

"I used to have these dreams of all these people that I knew, but didn't recognize. Now that I've come back here and met everybody it makes sense. I wasn't really dreaming, more of remembering." Lucy explained.

"Like what?" Natasha pressed, curious to know more.

"I've just had snippets of times with Bruce, Steve, and Tony. The ones of, who I now know is you two, are more frequent. So for example, in one I'm sitting in a long room and you are there," Lucy nodded to Clint, "You're crouched down next to me and are holding out a bow in front of me. I can remember touching the bow and you saying 'Don't tell Mommy we were in here.'"

Clint's face flushed a little when he glanced up at Natasha, who rolled her eyes. "It was a daddy-daughter day. I took you shopping and then we went back into the shooting range. You were my little cheerleader." Clint replied.

"It's because of that dream I asked Sif to teach me how to shoot," Lucy said smiling at her father.

"That's my girl," Clint praised smiling brightly.

"In another one, I'm not quite sure where I am, but you are there," Lucy started nodding to Natasha. "I remember feeling warm and cozy. I'm looking up at you and you are smiling back. You were singing to me. I don't know what language, but you were singing."

Natasha bit her lip and smiled, "It was a Russian lullaby," she replied.

"Russian?" Lucy repeated her eyes lighting up.

"Yes, both myself and your father can speak it; I more fluently than him," Natasha explained.

"We used to call you птичка," Clint said.

"What does it mean?" Lucy asked.

"Little Bird; Lida came up with it since Clint's Hawkeye," Natasha replied.

"I bet you will find this funny then," Lucy chuckled reached down into her backpack once more.

She retrieved her necklace and held it out for them to see. Natasha smiled as she took notice to of the charm on it.

"Frigga had it made for me. She said I loved to sit out in the garden and play with the little birds." Lucy said.

"That's amazing," Natasha breathed.

Lucy tucked the necklace away back in her backpack and sighed, "So where do stay now?"

Natasha through a panicked look at Clint; they hadn't even thought of that. Of course she needed to stay there with them, but her old room was still in the same shape they had felt it 18 years ago.

"Here of course, we'll have to get a room ready for you and you can help with that." Clint replied giving Natasha an encouraging look.

"I'd like that. I'll go back to Phil's for the night though, all my stuff is there," Lucy said.

"Good old Phil," Clint chuckled.

"He really cares for the two of you, know that?" Lucy said softly.

"He always has," Natasha replied.

The three fell silent after that, not knowing exactly what to talk about. Shadow, luckily, helped break some of the silence. She padded over to her reunited family and nudged Lucy's hand with her head.

Lucy smiled and scratched behind the dog's ears.

"I almost forgot. This is Shadow," Clint said patting the dog's head.

"Yes, we met briefly when I stumbled in here yesterday," Lucy replied. "It was like she recognized me."

"She probably did. She was just a puppy when you were a baby. You were her best friend," Clint explained.

"Wait a minute. How is she still alive then? I know dogs live for quite a while, but not 18 years." Lucy questioned.

"Bruce sort of experimented on her. Her aging has been dramatically slowed. So in reality her body thinks it's only about 5 or 6 years old." Clint replied.

"That's remarkable," Lucy muttered.

The elevator then made a noise, signaling the arrival of someone. A few moments later, Phil stepped out and into the room.

"Good, I see no dead bodies," he joked walking towards the family.

Shadow barked happily and went to greet him. Phil gave her a pat on the head as he took a seat in the armchair.

"Naw, why would we kill anyone?" Clint replied.

"You did not just ask me that? I know you two," Phil chuckled rolling his eyes. "So what's going on? You guys had been up here for quite a while and it was getting late."

"We were just talking," Natasha said putting a hand on Lucy's leg and giving it a small squeeze. "She's going to stay with us tomorrow."

"That's wonderful! Oh God, it's like a dream come true; finding you, Lucy," Phil exclaimed.

"Yes, just like a dream," Natasha whispered looking at Clint.

"Well let's go get some dinner, Lucy, and let them talk," Phil said catching the vibe between the two agents.

Lucy nodded and picked up her backpack, "Could I just leave this here since I'm coming back?"

Natasha nodded furiously, "Of course." She held out her hand to take the bag.

Lucy handed her mother her backpack then followed Phil to the elevator. Phil put a hand on Lucy's shoulder and smiled at Natasha and Clint. "We'll be back in the morning, okay?" Phil said.

"We'll see you two then," Clint said with a smile.

With that Lucy and Phil boarded the elevator and left the two agents in silence.

* * *

a/n: soooo what did you think?


	10. Chapter 10

A/n: i am sooooo sorry for the delay in posti this chapter. Honestly i thoughti had posted it and wondered why it hadnt gotten any reviews...

Well here it is and no i couldn't resist writing the sexy time scene... Ive missed writing Clint and Nat :) Enjoy and dont forget to review!

* * *

Chapter 10

Clint looked to Natasha who was clutching the backpack to her chest.

"Tasha, are you okay?" he asked softly.

"She's alive, Clint. Our baby is alive," Natasha all but whispered.

Clint smiled and sat down next to his wife, "I know," he replied.

He watched her face slowly break into a grin as the realization sunk in. She loosened her grip on the backpack and turned to face Clint. Suddenly, she took his face into her hands and crashed her lips against his in a heated kiss.

Clint enthusiastically replied breaking away and peppering kisses down the length of her throat.

"She's coming home, Clint," Natasha gasped her eyes closing in pleasure.

"I know," he murmured against her skin.

Natasha ran her hands through Clint's hair, gently tugging his mouth back up to hers. The backpack slipped off her lap as she shifted into Clint's lap.

"We aren't going to get to do this when she's here," Clint said once he pulled away for air.

Natasha gave him a sly grin, "I guess we need to get this out of our system now."

Clint chuckled as Natasha wrapped her legs around his waist.

"As you wish," he murmured picking her up and carrying her to their room.

He laid her down on the bed and stepped back for a moment to look at her. In her eyes, she was absolutely beautiful. Her shoulder length red curls were splayed out around her head framing her face.

Natasha rolled her eyes at him and scooted up the bed, kicking the sheets down as she went.

Clint finally crawled onto the bed as well and crept up her body. He hovered over her for a moment before dipping down and capturing her lips in a sweet kiss. Natasha snaked her hands up under his shirt, caressing his chiseled chest; she had never gotten tired of the feel of his muscles. She took advantage of his need for air and pulled his shirt off.

Clint sat up and pulled her with him. He ran his hands under her shirt, tracing her spine as he gently nipped at the skin between her neck and shoulder.

He peeled the garment away from her silky skin and tossed it to join his own. Shortly after, her bra joined the pile.

Slowly, Clint made his way down to her breasts, causing her to gasp as he took one peak into his mouth. Natasha ran her hands through his hair encouraging him on with her soft moans of satisfaction. Clint used his other hand to massage her other breast as he sucked on its twin.

"Clint," Natasha moaned, arching her body towards him.

Clint smiled against her skin and began to trail kissed down her abdomen, dragging his hands down her sides as he went. He paused when he reached the skin just above her pants. He traced the faint stretch marks; his vision clouding with tears momentarily.

Their baby was coming home. They were getting a second chance to be parents again.

He fumbled her pants button before finally dragging them along with her underwear down her legs. He crawled his way back up her body caressing her as he went. Natasha shivered as he started kissing her once more. She felt his hand drift lower and begin to tenderly stroke the inside of her thigh, causing her to let out a long moan.

Slowly, almost painfully, he brushed two fingers against her entrance. He couldn't suppress the shudder when he discovered how wet she was. Natasha gasped and bucked her hips against his hand.

"Don't tease," she hissed tugging his pants and boxers down in one swift motion.

Her hand wrapped around his hardened length giving him a few strokes. Clint groaned trying to keep his body under control.

"What was that about teasing?" he growled.

Natasha chuckled and lined him up with her entrance. She tilted her hips up causing the tip to slip in. Both let out a moan at the contact.

Slowly, Clint pushed himself into her, marveling at the feeling of her warmth surrounding him. After all these years, this never got old.

As he let her adjust to his size, he lazily kissed her jaw; waiting for permission to move. Natasha wrapped her legs around his thighs and gently bucked her hips against his causing him to slip in just a bit deeper.

Clint took this as a sign to move. He captured her lips again in a deep kiss and began to pull out and slowly thrust back in.

The angle was deliciously perfect, hitting all the right spots inside Natasha. She could already feel the knot tightening inside her as Clint set his slow and agonizing pace. She ran her nails down his shoulder blades and thrust her hips up to meet his, taking him in deeper.

Clint groaned into the crook of her shoulder as his pace stuttered for a moment. Natasha continued to meet his hips with each thrust, but it wasn't enough.

"Faster," she breathed into his ear as she played with the small hairs at the base of his neck.

She could feel Clint smile against her shoulder as he started to pick up the pace. The feeling of him gliding in and out of her was just too amazing.

"God, Tasha, you're so tight," Clint moaned biting at her ear lobe.

Natasha gasped as he thrust forward a little harder, enjoying the jolt of electricity it sent through her body. She was close, so close. Clint rolled his hips ever so slightly as he thrust into her causing something to finally snap inside her. Natasha let out a small scream as she came around him, clinging to his body.

Clint felt her walls ripple and clamp around him, urging him to keep going. He continued to thrust in and out through her orgasm, keeping his mind focused on things other than Natasha in order to keep himself from joining her.

He felt Natasha go limp against him and he stilled inside her. He brushed a couple of sweaty strands of hair behind her ear and kissing her lightly on her lips. He then wrapped his arms around her back and held her tight to his chest. Skillfully, Clint flipped them over to where she was laying on top of him.

Natasha giggled softly and pushed herself up above him, settling on his hips with him still nestled inside her. Clint sat up as well and scooted them back to where he could rest his back against the headboard. Natasha placed her hands on his shoulders and brought her knees up under her, raising herself up to where only the tip of him was still inside. Clint rested his hands on her hips and sat up a little more so he could kiss her.

Slowly Natasha sank back down on Clint's length moaning into his mouth and he filled her once more. Clint kept his hands firm on her hips as she set an agonizing slow pace. He watched her closed her eyes and scrunch her eyebrows up in concentration as she ground down against him. He snaked a hand between them and massaged one of her breasts while his other hand found her small bundle of nerves.

Natasha's eyes flew open as she gasped at the contact. Her entire body was a live wire. Clint leaned forward and sucked on her pulse point as he thrust his hips up into her. That was all it took to send Natasha hurdling over the edge again, this time dragging Clint with her.

Natasha collapsed forward on Clint, tucking her head under his chin.

She listened to the sound of his heartbeat in time with her own, slowly going back to a steadier rhythm. Clint ran his hands up and down her back, relishing in the after math of their orgasm.

"We should clean out the room tonight," Natasha breathed, her breath warm on his chest.

Clint took a deep breath and kissed the matted mess of hair on her head.

"We should shower first though," he mumbled.

"Probably," she replied nuzzling him.

Clint chuckled when Natasha tightened her grip around his body.

"I meant today," he whispered.

Natasha sighed and carefully climbed off her husband. She tousled her hair and slid off the bed heading towards the bathroom.

Clint watched her walk, his eyes glued to her gorgeous swaying hips and backside. She paused at the doorway and looked back at him with devilish grin.

"Well, are you going to join me or not?" she purred.

Clint smirked and practically leapt off the bed to join his wife.

* * *

After another round of lovemaking in the shower and a particularly large amount of hot water later, the two agents finally made it outside of the door to what was once Lucy's nursery.

Surprisingly, Natasha made the first move. She opened the door and flicked on the light switch.

The room was still in the same state that it had been after Loki took Lucy; it was mess. Natasha crossed to the overturned crib and ran her hand along the cool dusty wood.

"I regretted tearing this place apart for many years," she said softly.

Clint walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her middle, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"It's okay, we're gonna fix it," he whispered in her ear before planting a small kiss on her cheek.

He pulled away and knelt down to the pile of blankets and toys that had tumbled out of the crib, beginning to fold them neatly. Natasha took a deep breath and turned her attention to the mess of clothes surrounding the dresser.

She sat down on the floor and pulled a couple of articles towards her. She picked up an onesie and flipped it over to see which one it was. Her breath caught in her throat as she read the writing, "Littlest Avenger."

"Clint," she croaked holding up for him to see.

"Oh my god, I wondered where that had gone," he said leaning forward and taking the garment into his hand. "Damn, she was tiny," he chuckled.

"Keep it. I like that one," Natasha said.

Clint nodded and folded it up, setting it next to him. Slowly they sorted through the clothes; most of which were going to be donated. They piled the baby blankets, clothes, sheets, and stuffed animals into the crib and dragged it out into the living room.

They decided that the dresser and rocking chair could stay, but the changing table joined the crib. Clint found a cardboard box for them to put their small pile of mementos in, and then carefully tucked it away at the bottom of their closet. They finished somewhere around midnight. All that was left in the room was the beautiful paintings Steve had done, the dresser, the rocking chair, and a couple of stuffed animals that had been Lucy's favorites.

The two stood in the doorway observing their work.

"She'll be home tomorrow," Natasha whispered resting her head on Clint's shoulder.

"Yep and this time we won't have to get up five or six times to change her diaper," he chuckled. Natasha elbowed him in the ribs, but smiled.

"Come on, my Hawk, we need to go to bed," she said heading towards their bedroom.

Clint smiled and gave the room one last took before flipping the light off and closing the door.

"Right behind ya' Sexy Momma," he called out. Tomorrow would be perfect; tomorrow they would finally be a family again.


	11. Chapter 11

a/n: i am soooooooooooooooooooo sorry! I know it has been quite a while since i updated. Its been a combination of bad writers block and spring break. But I'm back and I'm working on the next chapter. I hope you enjoy this chapter and please review!

* * *

Chapter 11

Phil brought Lucy back to the tower relatively early in the morning. He had S.H.I.E.L.D. business to tend to that day so he was only able to drop her off.

Lucy shouldered the duffel bag and clutched her bow in her hand. She gave Phil a wave before he drove off and she headed to the elevator.

She was actually really excited for today. This is what she had been dreaming about all her life. As the elevator doors opened she was greeted by shadow. Lucy dropped her bag and knelt down to return the affection. Shadow's tail thumped loudly on the floor as Lucy scratched behind her ears. Shadow gave Lucy a long lick on her face causing her to laugh.

Clint strolled out of the kitchen and smiled at the sight of his daughter and dog.

"Good Morning," he said getting her attention.

Lucy turned around and stood up to face her father. "Morning," she replied brightly.

"You hungry?" Clint asked nodding towards the kitchen.

As if on cue, Lucy's stomach grumbled loudly.

Clint chuckled, "I'll take that as a yes."

He glanced down at the bow on the floor and smiled, "That your bow?"

Lucy bent down and picked it and the duffel bag up. "Yeah, it's not like yours," she replied holding it out for him to see.

Clint took the bow into his hands and tested its weight. He pulled the string back as if to shoot it and pretended to aim. Lucy couldn't help but smile as her father examined her bow.

"It's a good bow. If you'd like you can try out some of mine," Clint said handing it back to Lucy.

"I would like that very much," she said.

Natasha then walked in pulling her hair up into a ponytail as she walked.

"Good morning, have you had breakfast?" she asked as she pulled Lucy into a quick hug.

Lucy caught a whiff of her mother's scent and smiled. It was just like it was in her dreams.

"No, I haven't," Lucy replied.

"Good neither have we," Natasha said looking to Clint expectantly.

Clint rolled his eyes and walked back to the kitchen.

"You can just set your stuff on the couch," Natasha instructed as she walked over to the breakfast bar and sat down one of the stools.

Lucy did just that then took a seat next to her mother. She watched Clint move around the kitchen gathering ingredients.

"So what's the plan for today?" Lucy asked as she took the glass of orange juice Clint was holding out for her.

"Well, we cleaned up your room last night and were thinking we could go shopping for a new bed and things like that," Natasha replied.

"Can I see the room first?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah! Nat go show it to her," Clint suggested.

Natasha smiled and slid off the stool, "Follow me."

She led her daughter to the bedroom door and paused, "Go on in," she said gesturing to the door.

Lucy took a deep breath and turned the knob, pushing the door open. She stepped inside and gasped, "Wow, this is mine?"

She walked to the center of the room and looked around. She walked over to the dresser running her hand along the top before moving on to the rocking chair.

"I used to rock you to sleep in that chair," Natasha said softly.

She watched Lucy mover on to the few stuffed animals in the window seat. "Those were your favorites. I just couldn't get rid of them," Natasha commented.

"I'm glad you kept them. I like them," Lucy replied.

"We can point the walls too. This was just for the nursery," Natasha said finally joining her daughter in the room.

"No, I love the walls. Who did this?" Lucy asked.

"Steve painted them," Natasha replied with a small smile.

Lucy turned to Natasha and smiled, "I've never had a room of my own."

Natasha's heart swelled, "You do now."

Lucy took her by surprise by hugging her tightly. At first Natasha was in shock but she quickly relaxed and returned the hug.

"Thank you," Lucy mumbled.

"You're very welcome, птичка," Natasha replied.

"Breakfast is ready girls!" Clint called out causing the two to break apart.

Lucy smiled at her mother before exiting the room. Natasha followed a few moments later and joining her and Clint at the bar. The three ate quickly and quietly, all anxious to start the day's activities. Once the plates were cleared, Clint grabbed his car keys and wallet as Natasha grabbed her purse.

"Let's get going," he said ushering his two girls to the elevator and to the car.

Lucy curiously watched her parents interact as they walked to the car, in the car, and once they arrived at the furniture store. They stayed fairly close to one another, occasionally brushing hands. They moved perfectly in sync with each other. It was like they were silently communicating. For a moment, she felt out of place, her spirits lifted when Clint looked back at her smiling warmly, offering her his hand.

Lucy happily took his hand and allowed herself to be brought up in between her parents. Clint linked arm with hers and patted her hand reassuringly.

"Okay you need a bed. Price is not a problem, so just pick one that catches your eye," Clint explained.

Lucy wasn't used to being doted upon. She nervously walked through the displays, trying not to glance at the price tags. She stopped at a simple bed with dark wood that matched the dresser. She looked back at her parents.

"This one," she said.

Clint beamed and took one of the sheets of paper saying what item it was.

As they walked to the checkout counter, Lucy caught sight of a beautiful book shelf. Before she could stop herself, she blurted out, "Can I get a bookshelf?"

Natasha smiled softly, "Of course, you see one you like?"

Lucy quickly grabbed one of the scan papers for the bookshelf and handed it to her mother. Natasha looked at it for a moment before handing it to Clint. As the cashier rung up the two items, Lucy cringed seeing the final price.

Natasha frowned and wrapped one arm around Lucy, "Don't worry about it," she whispered.

"I'm just not used to this," Lucy mumbled.

"Well, get used to it. We have waited 18 years to dote upon you," Natasha replied giving her a quick peck on the side of her head.

Lucy smiled and turned her attention to Clint leading a cart of boxes out to the car. She kept close to her mother as they walked. Once they loaded the car, she spoke up, "Where are we going next?"

"I was thinking about heading to the mall. You girls can shop and I'll be your bag carrier," Clint suggested.

"Sounds like a plan," Lucy replied as she buckled her seat belt.

As Clint pulled out of the parking spot and headed down the road, Natasha twisted around in her seat to face Lucy.

"So tell us about yourself, we can ask you questions and we'll answer them as well," Natasha said.

Lucy nodded, "Go for it."

Natasha turned back around and looked to Clint.

"Hmm, okay, favorite food?" Clint asked looking at her through the rearview mirror.

"I guess it's not a food, but I love cookie dough," Lucy replied.

"God, you are my daughter, I do too," clint laughed.

Natasha rolled her eyes, "I like actual food. I love Italian."

"Italian is good too," Lucy added.

"Favorite color?" Natasha asked.

"Green."

"I think we all like that one," Clint said.

"I have one for you two," Lucy said.

"Shoot," Natasha replied.

"What's your happier memory?" Lucy asked.

There was a long moment of silence in the car.

"The day you were born," Natasha replied softly.

"Yeah, I think so too," Clint said.

"Why?" Lucy pressed.

Natasha looked at Clint and sighed, "Well, for starts, I was told I would never be able to have children. So when I found out I was pregnant, it was a miracle. After surviving being held captive and keeping you alive was an added bonus. To make everything just perfect, your father was there for the actual birth. I spent long months thinking I was going to have you all alone and I would lose you, but that didn't happen. Yes I was in a jet in the middle of nowhere, in winter, in Russia," she paused and looked at Clint with a warm smile. "But your father was there and so were all of our friends. We were safe."

Lucy smiled, "That's so cool."

Natasha chuckled, "I'm glad you think so."

Once they reached the mall, the first store they stopped in was Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

Natasha and Lucy immediately went to the sheets section and d rooted through the selections. The two settled on earthy bedding set and a couple of sheet sets that matched. Clint ran those bags out to the car while the two girls continued on.

He eventually found them in a clothing shop. He kept his distance allowing the mother and daughter time together that both desperately craved. Store after store he watched them chat and try on clothes, smiles never leaving their faces. Clint could see the light in Natasha's eyes returning; a light he hadn't seen in years. He couldn't help but bask in the joy.

One of the last stores was a formal shop that sent Clint back to when Natasha and he went shopping in Hawaii. He sat on the couch outside of one of the changing rooms while Natasha made Lucy try on dresses.

Natasha had insisted that every girl have at least one good dress in her closet which caused Lucy to look at her father for help. He had just chuckled and whispered, "Indulge her," before taking his seat.

Natasha brought dress after dress into the room, but Lucy never came out.

Clint shifted his feet around the numerous bags around him trying to get comfortable on the stiff couch.

A few moments later Natasha emerged from behind the curtains smiling brightly. She crossed to Clint, who stood up to meet her and kissed him lightly on the lips.

"Everything okay?" he murmured.

"Yes, you're going to love this one," she whispered turning around. "Come on out, dear," Natasha called out.

Slowly and nervously, Lucy crept out from behind the curtain.

Clint felt his breath hitch in his throat as he looked at his daughter. Lucy wore a knee length strapless purple dress that was slim and flowing. There was a small amount of beading around the top and a black sash wrapped around her waist, coming to a neat bow in the back.

Clint stepped over the bags to get a closer look. Lucy had her head bowed shyly, obviously avoiding looking at her parents or the mirror. Clint stood before her and tilted her chin up so she would look at him. He smiled and tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. He turned her around to face the mirror and stood behind her with his hands resting on her shoulders.

"You look beautiful," he whispered kissing the back of her head.

Part of him didn't want to believe that this was his baby, but another part swelled with pride.

Lucy studied her reflection in the mirror. She ignored the dress, which was very beautiful, and focused on the overall image. Her favorite part was the fact that her parents were there standing beside her, smiling so brightly.

Lucy couldn't help, but smile back.

* * *

On the way back from the mall, they stopped at Walmart to pick up a couple groceries and basic items for Lucy. It took a couple of trips to bring all the bags in from the car, so as her mother and father unloaded Lucy took her toiletries to the bathroom. It felt strange to be putting the bottles of shampoo and conditioner into the shower. She had never had a permanent place for things like soap.

Natasha poked her head into the bathroom, "Hey, we got everything up here, want to come help?"

Lucy nodded, set her new hairbrush down on the counter and followed her mother to her room. Clint had the boxes for the bed opened up and was sitting in the middle of them with the instructions in his hand. He had his face scrunched up in concentration, rubbing his chin as he looked for the paper to the boxes.

"Problem Hawk?" Natasha mocked, smirking down at her husband.

"I got this, just give me a minute," Clint grumbled.

Natasha snickered, grabbed the bags of clothing that sat near the closet and walked to the master bedroom. Lucy followed, but hesitated outside the door. She watched Natasha dump the clothes out on the bed.

"You can come in, I don't mind," Natasha said not even bothering to look up from what she was doing.

Lucy shuffled in and sat down on the corner of the bed. Out of nowhere, Shadow jumped up onto the bed and lay down next to Lucy.

"I'm beginning to think she missed me," Lucy pointed out as she scratched Shadow's ears.

"Just a little bit," Natasha chuckled. She yanked off a tag from a t-shirt and tossed the shirt into the laundry basket at her feet. "She can stay with you if you'd like. She's quite the cuddler at night," Natasha added.

"One big furry pillow," Lucy laughed.

"Pretty much," Natasha replied. "She keeps me company when Clint goes out on missions without me."

Lucy grabbed a couple of garments and torn the price tags off. "She seems like a good substitute," she commented.

Natasha chuckled, "Most definitely. You probably wouldn't peg Clint for being cuddly, but he is seriously a big teddy bear."

Lucy shook her head and made a face, "Ugh random picture of the two of you cuddling. Not sure I want to see that."

Natasha smiled and tossed a shirt at Lucy's face causing her to laugh. Once they finished taking all the tags off the clothes, they went to check on Clint.

He met them at the door as he talked on his cellphone.

"Okay, thank you," he finished, closing his phone and squeezing past the two women. "Mattress is here, I'll be right back," he said giving Natasha a quick peck on the lips and a quick peck on Lucy's cheek before boarding the elevator.

Ten minutes later he returned with four workers in tow carrying a box spring and mattress. Once those were in place and the workers were gone, Clint came back in the room carrying the bedding set. He plopped it down on the mattress and opened it up. Lucy took a step forward, intending to help, but was stopped when Clint looked up at her.

"No, I want to do this. I made your bed when you were a baby. I want to do it one last time," Clint explained with a warm smile.

Lucy stepped back and leaned against the wall, watching him pull everything out. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Natasha carrying the laundry basket down the hall with Shadow on her heels. She smiled and looked back to her father who was pulling on the bottom sheet.

"You had a thing for fluffy blankets. You would bury yourself in out comforter and scare the living shit out of me," Clint reminisced as he pulled the top sheet on.

"Why did that scare you?" Lucy asked.

"You were a little baby and I was afraid you would suffocate. I would frantically dig through the blankets until I found you giggling and smiling. It was like a game for you," Clint explained.

"You two seemed to know how to take care of a baby pretty well," Lucy pointed out.

Clint paused as he unfolded the comforter, "We had watched children on one mission, but other than that we were clueless." He continued on with the comforter.

"Children on a mission?" Lucy questioned.

"Yeah, not something I really want to talk about okay?" Clint replied.

Lucy nodded and watched him finish straightening the bed. He fluffed the pillows and stepped back, "Voila!" he said gesturing to the finished product.

Lucy raised an eyebrow and gave him a sly smile. In one motion, she pushed herself off the wall and flung herself smack into the middle of the neat bed. She buried her face into the soft, cool pillows and smiled as she spread out on the bed.

Clint smiled down at her and suddenly had an idea. He wasn't exactly sure how she would react, but he would never know if he didn't try. Quietly, he crept forward and once he was right at the edge of the bed, he began his attack.

Lucy jumped when she felt fingers begin to tickle her body. She squirmed trying to get away, but failed. She couldn't help but giggle like a little girl as she flipped over to return the attack. Clint laughed and shifted to where he could keep her pinned with one arm and continue to tickle her with his other.

This moment was what his heart had craved for so many years. He didn't see his 19 year old daughter, but instead his little girl.

"Hey, what's all the laughter in here?" Natasha asked as she stood in the doorway with a fake frown on her face.

Clint backed off and let Lucy catch her breath.

"Aww come on, Nat. Laughter is good," Clint playfully groaned.

"Oh, I love the laughter. I was just wondering why I was left out?" Natasha asked a smile forming on her lips.

"It was a surprise attack, so it wasn't fair," Lucy laughed.

"I'll get him later, when he's least expecting it, don't worry," Natasha replied with a wink. "Come on, I've got dinner ready."

All three left and went to the table where Natasha had set out plates. In the middle of the table was microwaved lasagna which made Lucy smile. It made everything feel so normal.

This was what she had thought a family dinner should be. They weren't two master assassins and a long lost daughter. Tonight they were just a mom, a dad, and a daughter sitting down to eat. She didn't care that there was no talking throughout the meal; everything just felt so right.

After Clint cleared the plates, Lucy tried to stifle a yawn as she got up from the table.

"You can go to bed. You don't have to entertain us," Natasha said softly.

For some reason, Lucy now felt very tired. She nodded and crossed over to Clint, giving him a hug then to Natasha.

"Good night," she said picking up her bag and heading to her room.

"Take Shadow with you," Clint called out.

Lucy smiled softly and gestured for Shadow to follow. The dog happily bounded after her. Once Shadow was in the room, Lucy softly closed the door and set her bag at the end of the bed.

She felt a little strange undressing in front of the dog, so she quickly pulled on the pair of pajamas she had borrowed. She yanked the hairband out of her hair and ran her fingers through her red curls. As she walked to a side of the bed, she picked up her blanket and one of the stuffed animals.

She slipped under the cool sheets and wiggled down into the pillows. She patted the empty side of the bed and Shadow jumped up to join her. The dog plopped down right next to Lucy and laid he head down on her lap. Lucy pet Shadow's head and closed her eyes.

* * *

Natasha found herself staring down the hallway after Lucy left.

"You told her to go, Nat," Clint said kissing her softly on her cheek.

Natasha broke her gaze and turned to look at her husband.

"I know, she was tired. I don't want to be that annoying clingy parent," she sighed.

"It's the first day. I think she would have understood," Clint said.

"Probably, can you grab the laundry and meet me in our room?" she asked as she headed towards the hall.

Clint nodded and headed in the opposite direction as Natasha walked off. He found her sitting on their bed. He set the full laundry basket down on his side and emptied its contents onto the bed, then sat down next to Natasha.

She immediately pulled a few garments towards her and started to fold. Clint did the same, but froze when he looked down at what he was holding.

"Please tell me these are yours," he asked holding up a pair of lacy black panties.

Natasha snorted, "Nope, those are hers."

Clint turned a deep shade of red and passed the underwear to Natasha.

"What's wrong? You don't mind mine?" Natasha asked.

"Yeah, well that's you. You're my wife. I've seen you naked. We're talking about our daughter. It's a difficult concept to swallow that your daughter isn't wearing diapers," Clint explained sloppily folding a shirt.

"I sure would hope she wasn't wearing diapers anymore," Natasha snickered.

"You know what I mean," Clint sighed.

Natasha rolled her eyes and took the sloppy shirt away from him and folded it neater.

"I know, just don't baby her too much," Natasha said.

"I'm trying, Nat. You can't either," Clint replied.

They finished folding the clothes and piled them back into the laundry basket. They silently changed into their night clothes and slipped under the covers, settling in for the night.

Natasha snuggled up next to Clint, smiling as she remembered what she had told Lucy earlier. She laid her head down on his warm chest, listening to the soft beating of his heart. She felt him wrap an arm around her shoulders and his head nuzzle hers.

"Clint?" Natasha whispered breaking the silence.

"Hmm?" he replied causing his chest to vibrate.

"Our baby is home," she said softly.

"I know," he replied squeezing her slightly.

Natasha couldn't stop the tears of joy that began to fall, soaking Clint's shirt. Clint kissed the top of her head and wrapped his other arm around her, holding her as she quietly cried.

It was like the weight had been lifted off their shoulders and the relief was blinding, no suffocating them. Now they got to be parents again. They had been given a second chance and in that moment, nothing had ever felt so special.

* * *

a/n: Dont forget to review!


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Good Lord...i am sorry for the delay once again...college has been a little annoying with it's 'demanding my attention fits' and all. I hope this one was worth the wait...It is the big big Avengers Reunion time :)

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Chapter 12

Natasha was the first one up the next morning. She carefully slipped out of bed and quietly changed into a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt. She picked up her shoes and went to the bathroom, closing the door behind her softly. She sat down on the edge of the tub and pulled her shoes on then pulled her hair back into a ponytail.

After a quick brushing of her teeth, she exited the bathroom then the bedroom. She padded down the hallway and carefully opened the door to Lucy's room. A smile spread on her face at what she saw.

In her sleep, Lucy made herself a nest out of the blankets and pillows and was curled up right in the middle. Shadow picked her head up from her spot on the shed and stared at Natasha.

Natasha motioned for Shadow to come and the dog complied. She quietly closed the door and continued out to the living room. She grabbed Shadow's leash, hooked her up and boarded the elevator. The elevator stopped before it reached its original destination.

The doors opened up to reveal Steve.

"Morning," he said brightly as he stepped in. "Walking Shadow?"

"Yeah, Clint and Lucy are still asleep," Natasha replied.

"Want some company?" Steve asked.

"Sure," she replied as they exited, walking out into the brisk morning air.

As they began down the sidewalk, Steve spoke up, "So how's it feel?"

"How's what feel?" Natasha asked wrapping the leash around her wrist.

"To have Lucy back," Steve replied with a warm smile.

Natasha sighed and chuckled slightly, "It's a little overwhelming."

"Why overwhelming? I figured you two would be over the moon," Steve said.

"Oh don't get me wrong, we are! It's just reality being a bitch. She's not a baby anymore. Clint and I missed everything. It feels amazing to have her back, but at the same time it hurts," she explained.

"That's understandable. Maybe you guys just need to talk. You both have plenty of stories to tell," Steve suggested.

"In time, we're just really getting a feel for each other," Natasha replied.

They stopped at a bench and sat down. Steve went to the little coffee cart and brought back two cups. Natasha nodded her thanks and sipped the steaming beverage.

"She's beautiful, Natasha," Steve said softly nudging her with his knee.

Natasha smiled, "Clint's gonna put her under lock and key."

Steve chuckled, "I know how he feels."

Natasha frowned, "God, I hadn't thought about Anya and Lida. They were heart broken when Lucy was taken."

"You should get the three of them together," Steve said.

"I was planning on getting everyone together tonight actually," Natasha aanswered.

"Oh that would be great," Steve said.

"I'm worried it would be too much for her," Natasha said.

"Ask her," Steve suggested.

The two finished their coffee and headed back to the tower.

"Just tell me what's going on, okay?" Steve said as he got off at his floor.

"I will," Natasha answered.

Once back on her floor, Natasha let Shadow off the leash. She spotted both Lucy and Clint at the counter hunched over bowls of cereal lazily munching away. She walked over to them and leaned against the counter, "Good Morning you two."

"There you are. I was wondering where you went," Clint said.

"Just took Shadow out for a walk, Steve came with me," Natasha replied plucking an apple out of the basket on the counter and took a bite.

After she swallowed, she spoke again, "We came up with an idea."

Lucy raised an eyebrow, but continued to eat.

"We were thinking we should introduce you to everyone, well, reintroduce you," Natasha said.

"I'd like that," Lucy replied.

Natasha smiled, "Great! JARVIS?"

"Yes Miss Romanoff?" the AI replied.

"Will you tell the others that we're going to have a get together on the meeting floor for Lucy?" Natasha called out.

"Of course, Miss Romanoff. Is there a certain time you wish to meet?" JARVIS asked.

"Noon is good," Natasha replied.

"Of course, I will inform them," JARVIS finished.

"So we can have the morning together," Natasha said to Clint and Lucy.

"Awesome," Lucy said finishing off her cereal. "I'm gonna get dressed."

She slid off her stool and set her bowl in the sink before heading back to her room. Clint finished his cereal and passed his bowl to Natasha who held out her hand for it.

"Steve said we should talk to her," Natasha said.

"Steve's just full of advice this morning," Clint chuckled.

Natasha smiled, "Yeah, go get dressed Barton."

"Bossy pants," Clint grumbled before flashing her a smile.

Lucy was the first to return and plopped down on the couch. Natasha joined her daughter and pulled her into a hug. Lucy let her head rest on Natasha's shoulder, closing her eyes as Natasha stroked her hair.

"I missed you," Natasha whispered. She felt Lucy smile.

"I know all of this has to be overwhelming," she continued.

"A little," Lucy confessed.

"You just have to tell us when it's too much, alright?" Natasha said.

"I will," Lucy replied snuggling a little closer to her mother.

Clint returned and sat down next to Natasha. He wrapped his arms around both women and pulled them closer to him.

"Mmm, my girls," he hummed happily.

"Okay, little squished now," Natasha rasped.

Clint rolled his eyes and let them go.

Lucy scooted away and leaned up against the arm of the couch, pulling her legs up to her chest.

"Let the interrogation begin," Lucy said with a smile.

"Sweetheart, we're not interrogating you," Clint sighed.

"Well I know, you just want to know everything and I want to know everything about you guys," Lucy explained.

"I don't even know where to start," Natasha said.

"Start anywhere. I don't have anything to hide," Lucy assured.

"Have you had a boyfriend?" Clint blurted out earning him a whack on his shoulder from Natasha. "Ouch! What was that for? She said start anywhere," Clint exclaimed.

"So you start with boys?" Natasha hissed.

Clint squared his shoulders and set his jaw, "She's my daughter, I have a right to know," he insisted.

Lucy giggled, "Don't worry, no boyfriends. I never really in one place long enough for anything like that."

"What do you mean?" Natasha asked.

"Loki wanted to keep a low profile so we moved around a lot. Any schooling I got it was from Loki or Sif," Lucy explained.

"Sif? The one who taught you to shoot?" Clint questioned.

"Yes, she really was the closest thing I had to a mother," Lucy answered.

"Sif is a great woman. I'm glad you were with her," Natasha said. "It makes me feel a little better to know you were in good hands."

"I wish I could have been here," Lucy said softly.

"You are now," Natasha replied. Natasha felt Clint place a hand on the small of her back to comfort her.

"We need to shoot together sometime," Clint suggested.

"That would be awesome," Lucy breathed.

"How about tomorrow?" Clint asked.

Lucy nodded furiously.

The little family continued to talk the rest of the morning. The small talk turned to deeper conversations, but nothing too bad. Clint and Natasha tactfully avoided talking abpout their own pasts. They weren't ready to dive into the red they had worked so hard to wipe out.

Natasha glanced up at the clock on the mantel and sighed. It was quarter to noon.

"We should probably head down now," she said.

"Let's get going then," Clint replied standing up.

After a silently awkward ride in the elevator, the family exited onto the empty meeting floor. They made it a few paces inside before the elevator dinged.

For some reason, Lucy felt her stomach churn nervously. She took a small step behind Clint.

"You okay?" he whispered.

"Nervous," she mumbled.

Clint turned around and gave her a quick kiss on the top of her head.

"They don't bite. Your mom and I will be right here," he said softly as he tucked a stray hair behind her ear.

"Mkay," Lucy replied.

Tony was the first out of the elevator, followed closely by Pepper, Amelia, and Anthony.

Without a moment of hesitation, Tony crossed over to Lucy and pulled her into his arms. He held her tight, swaying slightly. Lucy inhaled the musky scent of his cologne and relaxed. Even Tony now felt familiar.

"I knew it was you," he whispered in her ear making her smile.

"Thank you," she replied as he backed away.

"So no hard feelings on shooting me, okay?" Tony chuckled.

Lucy felt her cheeks flush in embarrassment; she had forgotten about that.

"She wouldn't be my daughter if she didn't shoot you once, Stark," Natasha quipped.

"True," Tony admitted.

Pepper cautiously stepped forward, "You probably don't remember me," she started.

"No you look familiar," Lucy interrupted.

Pepper smiled, "I'm your Aunt Pepper, if you still want to the whole aunt and uncle thing?" she said looking to Natasha for approval. Natasha nodded.

"And these two knot heads are Amelia and Anthony. You guys are only a year apart," Tony said, "This is Lucy."

The kids nodded and went to take a seat in the living room.

"You'll get to know them when you guys train," Tony said.

Natasha shot him a nasty look.

"Train?" Lucy questioned looking to her mother.

"I'll explain later," she replied.

Lucy nodded and turned back to see Steve, Peggy, Oliver, and Lida arriving.

Lida was the first to react. She, like Tony, pulled Lucy into a tight hug.

"I knew you were never dead. I refused to believe it," Lida whispered.

She backed off and held the red-head at arms length. Lucy took in the woman before her. Her blonde hair, pale skin, kind eyes; all of it was familiar.

"I remember you," Lucy said with a small smile.

Lida lit up and turned to Steve, "She remembers me Papa!"

Steve smiled, "I'm glad."

It was his turn now to hug her.

"I'm glad you found where you belong," he murmured.

He introduced Lucy to Peggy and Oliver. Oliver offered a hand for Lucy. "There's no way you would remember me," he said.

Lucy felt herself blush as she shook his hand. It wasn't like she could just ignore his handsome features. Oliver seemed to be just as shy, which made her feel better. Maybe he would be a good friend.

As the Rogers moved on to join the Starks, Bruce and Anya arrived. Seeing that she had already met them the exchange was short.

It was the last group that made Lucy's stomach do a back flip.

She was introduced to Jane and Dustin first. Then Thor stepped forward. The demigod held a different presence than Loki. He radiated power and greatness, which made Lucy shrink back a little.

"Lucy," Thor said his deep voice giving her goosebumps.

He placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a small squeeze.

"I am sorry for what my brother did," he said in a soft tone.

Lucy looked up and met Thor's gaze. She could see the sadness is his deep blue eyes.

"It wasn't your fault," Lucy croaked.

"No, but I traveled to Asgard many, many times and had direct contact with Sif. She often spoke of you, but I never further questioned her," Thor explained. He looked up to Natasha and Clint, "I am very sorry, especially to you, my friends."

"We have told you many times. We hold nothing against you. You are our friend and have helped us more than you know," Clint said.

Thor sighed, but nodded in return.

Now that everyone had arrived and had gathered in what was the living room, an awkward silence fell. Amelia, Anthony, and Dustin accused themselves, obviously feeling out of place. Lucy wished she could just accuse herself as well.

She felt Clint rub her back soothingly. She was amazed at how in tune he was to her feelings.

Tony cleared her throat, "Well then, we're all one big happy family again."

"So I'm getting this feeling that you guys like me," Lucy said chuckling nervously.

Everyone smiled back at her.

"You were the first baby here," Pepper said.

"We all kind of got attached to you," Steve added.

"I was only here for a year though," Lucy said confused.

"Yeah that was long enough to become attached," Tony chuckled.

"They all took turns watching you for us," Natasha explained.

"Watching her? More like finding her?" Tony scoffed.

Lucy gave him a questioning look.

"I watched you one day. I took my eye off of you for a second and poof! You were gone. I found you of course, but god, I started planning my own funeral for a moment," Tony said.

Tony's story set off everyone else reminiscing about her. There was story after story and slowly the overwhelmed part of Lucy began to tug at her insides. Finally, it was too much, her heart was racing and the want to run or shoot something was strong.

Lucy leaned over to her mother and tapped her shoulder.

"I'm gonna go get some air," she whispered.

Natasha furrowed her brow, "You okay?"

"Yeah, just a lot to take in," Lucy replied.

"Okay, птичка, they're wrapped up in their talking they won't notice," Natasha said.

Quietly she got up from her seat and slipped out of the room to a stairway. Curious, she followed it up to and out onto what looked like a landing platform. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, listening to the sounds of the city below. Her mind was reeling. These people cared so much for her, but they knew so little about her; especially the things she had done.

"They talk a lot," a male voice called out pulling her out of her thoughts.

Lucy opened her eyes and turned to find Oliver walking towards her. He had his hands shoved in his pockets and his sandy blonde hair was ruffled from the wind.

He stopped when he stood right next to her.

"You alright?" he asked shifting his weight from one foot to the other nervously.

"Yeah, I'm good. Its just…" she started.

"Overwhelming?" Oliver finished with a small smile.

Lucy let out a little laugh, "Yeah."

"When they're in a group it's like a bunch of high schoolers. Individually they act more of their age," Oliver explained.

"It's entertaining," Lucy replied.

"Yeah, don't worry about Amelia and Anthony. They do their own little thing," Oliver continued.

"You stayed in there, why?" Lucy asked.

"I like listening to them. They tell some pretty cool stories. I admire them greatly," Oliver answered.

"You hold yourself like your father," Lucy pointed out.

"Is that bad?" he asked.

"No, he's a great man," Lucy replied.

A silence fell over the two. For a bite they just stood there listening to the city below; not knowing exactly what to say next.

"I just came out here to say that is you need a friend, I'm here. I know what its like to have no one. Having just that one person outside of your parents is nice," Oliver said eventually.

"I would like that. We could hang out. I've never really had friends," Lucy replied.

"Well you have one now," Oliver said.

"We should probably go back," Lucy said.

"Yeah," Oliver agreed walking back to the stairwell. He held the door open and gestured for her to go, "Ladies first," he said playfully bowing his head.

Lucy chuckled, "Such a gentleman," as she walked down the stairs.

When the two arrived back to the group, Lucy slipped in next to her mother and father and Oliver rejoined his parents. He smiled at her from across the room. Lucy felt her face flush, a reaction she didn't understand, and smiled back.

Clint shifted his eyes from Lucy to Oliver, noting the interaction. He felt his chest tighten as he glared at the boy. For a brief second he locked eyes with Oliver causing the boy to pale and quickly look away. Clint smirked and relaxed once again.

"Good lord, look at the time," Steve said glancing down at his watch.

"Yeah, we better go get some dinner," Tony said standing up.

"You're always hungry, Stark," Natasha commented.

Tony rolled his eyes, "Whatever Romanoff."

Slowly everyone began to trickle out of the room after saying their goodbyes to Lucy.

She gave Oliver a small wave, which he returned. Finally it was just Clint, Natasha, and Lucy again. Once the elevator doors closed, Natasha immediately turned on Clint.

"Don't think I didn't see your little act," she hissed whacking him on the shoulder.

"God, Nat, it was just a bit of fun," Clint whined as he rubbed his shoulder.

"What did he do?" Lucy asked.

Natasha's face softened when she turned to her daughter.

"Your father was giving Oliver death glares once you two came back," Natasha explained.

"He just went to check on me and offer to hangout," Lucy said hoping to soothe Clint.

"That's how everything starts out," Clint mumbled under his breath.

Natasha whipped back around, "We'll talk later," she growled.

Lucy actually found the little stand-off entertaining. While her mother looked pretty damn threatening, her father didn't even flinch.

"Let's go eat," Clint sighed boarding the elevator.

The three rode up to their floor and headed to the kitchen. As Clint began to cook, Natasha pulled Lucy aside.

"Ignore him for now. He's just being overprotective," Natasha said.

"I figured," Lucy replied.

"Oliver is a great boy. He would be a great friend," Natasha continued.

"He seemed nice," Lucy said.

"He is, just give your father time. I'll deal with him," Natasha said.

The two rejoined Clint at the counter.

"So what was the whole training thing?" Lucy asked taking the bowl of alfredo and pasta from Clint.

Clint cleared his throat, "Well, um, the kids have kind of been recruited by

SHIELD already."

"Well it's more like they are training to take over places eventually," Natasha added.

"So to become the new Avengers," Lucy clarified.

"Exactly, now you don't have to…" Clint began.

"No I want to!" Lucy interrupted.

Clint smiled, "Alright."

They finished dinner in silence and after, Lucy slipped off to her room for the night.

Natasha and Clint went to bed as well. As they walked down the hallway Natasha noticed Lucy had left the door cracked. She peered in and smiled, seeing she was already asleep. Shadow was curled up next to her softly snoring.

Natasha turned and continued to the bedroom, finding Clint already sitting in bed in nothing but his boxers. He gave her a sly smile and she closed the door.

"Don't even think about, Bird," Natasha grumbled.

She stripped out of her clothes as she walked to her dresser, tossing each piece into the hamper as she went. She pulled on one of Clint's old t-shirts and a pair of sweatpants, then climbed into bed. She watched Clint shuffle closer. Choosing to ignore his actions, she simply slumped down and pulled the sheets up over her shoulder.

Clint rested his head on her shoulder.

"Nat," he said softly.

"Nope," she snapped.

Clint sighed, "What did I do?"

Natasha huffed and rolled over, pushing him off of her as she sat up. "What happened to not babying her?" she asked.

Clint rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "Yeah, um."

"Not every boy wants to get into her pants, especially not Steve Rogers' son. Oliver would be great for her," Natasha replied.

"I know, Nat, I just…god…I don't even know," Clint grumbled.

Natasha sighed and reached out to cup his face in her hands, "Its okay. Just let her do her thing. If she wants to date let her date. I don't think she's stupid. I mean she's our daughter."

She kissed him lightly on the nose then again on the lips. Clint broke away with a smile.

"I'll work on it. It's only day two," he said before kissing her again.

Natasha rolled her eyes, "Good night, my Hawk."

"Good night my spider," Clint replied shifting in next to her pulling her body flush to his. He inhaled her comforting scent and let his eyelids drift closed.

* * *

What seemed like seconds later, Clint's eyes flew open. He rolled over in bed and glanced at the clock. It was 2 in the morning. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and groaned as he sat up. He felt Natasha stir next to him, rolling over and looking at him with bleary eyes.

"What's wrong?" she croaked, her voice raspy from sleep.

"Not sure, just woke up for some reason. Go back to sleep Tasha, I'll be fine," Clint grumbled patting her shoulder then swinging his legs over the side of the bed.

He rubbed his eyes again and rested his head in his hands, propping his elbows on his knees. He closed his eyes for a moment and was greeted by a wet nose wiggling its way between his fingers. In the pale moonlight, he could make out the shape of Shadow sitting in front of him.

"Hey girl, what's wrong? Did you wake me up?" Clint whispered as he scratched the dog behind the ear.

Shadow whined softly and pawed at his knee. Clint raised an eyebrow and stood up.

"Alright, show me," he whispered.

Shadow got up and padded out of the room, stopping in the hall to see if he was following. Clint paused and pulled on a pair of sweatpants before following. They got a few steps down the hall when Clint heard a low moan followed by the rustling of fabric.

His heart began to race and he trained his ears in on the source of the sound. He paused outside of Lucy's door and listened. After a moment there was another moan followed by a choked sob that caused Shadow to whine. Clint didn't hesitate any further.

In a blink of an eye he was next to Lucy's bed carefully assessing the situation. He watched as she tossed and turned in her sleep, her face scrunched up in what looked like pain.

"Nooooooo, please stop," she groaned curling her body up into a tight ball.

Clint's hands hovered over her, almost afraid to touch her. After another heart wrenching sob, Clint sat down on the edge of the bed and wrapped his arms around his daughter, pulling her body and blankets against his chest. She fought against trying to pull away, eyes still screwed shut.

"Hey, shhhh, sweetheart it's me. Shhhh, it's okay. Come on wake up, baby," Clint said rubbing Lucy's back soothingly like he had done when she was a baby.

Lucy's eyes shot open and she stared up wildly at Clint, taking in who was holding her.

"Daddy?" she whimpered.

Once the entire situation sunk in, she melted into his embrace, sobbing against him. Clint held her close, rocking slightly. After the sobs ceased, Clint brushed Lucy's hair out of her face and kissed her temple.

"You want to talk about it?" he murmured rubbing her shoulder softly.

"It was Loki," Lucy whimpered.

Clint's chest tightened, "What about him?" he asked keeping his tone calm.

"I have the dream before. He was taking me away from somewhere. All I see is him laughing and smiling. I hear screaming and see so much fire," Lucy explained burrowing her heard against her father's chest.

Clint sighed, the dream sounded a lot like the day Loki took her from the Tower.

"It's okay sweetheart, he's not gonna take you ever again. You are safe. Try and sleep," Clint said making a move to get up.

Lucy panicked and clung to his arm, "Don't leave me! Please," she exclaimed looking up at him with worried eyes.

Clint smiled back at her, "Okay, scoot over."

Lucy scooted over to make room for her father. Clint propped himself up against the headboard and pulled her pillow into his lap. Lucy laid her head back down and allowed him to pull the covers back over her and rest his arm protectively over her shoulder. She felt him stroke her hair and shift slightly to get comfortable.

As she closed her eyes, she heard him begin to softly hum a familiar tune. She smiled, realizing it was the same tune her mother had sung to her in her dreams. And for the moment, she really believed that Loki would never get her again.

* * *

a/n: just fyi the whole situation is something that my father would do with me... I really wanted to emphasize the relationship between Clint and Lucy in this chapter. The next one I'm gonna work with Lucy, Natasha, Lida, and Anya. I have really been wanting to bring the four of them together once again since Lida and Anya were there for Natasha in _Dark Side _when she was pregnant with Lucy...it's gonna be goooooood.

Anyways, please review! if you guys are still out there and havent given up on me :(


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Yes I am alive! College took control of my life and now that finals have FINALLY arrived I found time to type this. I also got a job that takes up three days of my week so updates will come more frequently, just not as frequently as you guys would like... I know I'm a bad author :( Please hang in there guys! Its about to get good :)

* * *

Chapter 13

Natasha woke to an empty bed the next morning. She groggily got up and shuffled out of her room and down the hall, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she went. She stopped at Lucy's room and peered in. She found Clint and Lucy asleep; Clint half sitting up and Lucy lying in his lap. Natasha quietly padded over to the side of the bed and carefully placed a kiss on her husband's lips. She felt him smile against her and pulled away.

"Morning," he whispered slowly opening his eyes.

"Morning, everything okay?" Natasha replied glancing down at their sleeping daughter.

"Yeah, I'll talk to ya later about it," Clint said shifting slightly.

Lucy shifted curling up further and moving closer to her father, clutching at his pants leg. Clint smiled and brushed her hair out of her face.

"I'm jealous," Natasha chuckled softly.

"You can come up here too," Lucy grumbled scooting even closer to Clint (if that were possible) to make room for her mother.

Natasha lit up which made Clint chuckle. She crossed to the other side of the bed and climbed up under the covers, settling into the same position as Clint. Lucy shuffled, rolling over, taking the pillow with her and settled into her mother's lap snuggling close to her warm body. She kept her eyes closed, not wanting to open them and find this all was a dream.

Natasha wrapped her arms around Lucy and hugged her. After a moment, Clint joined in in the embrace, practically draping his body over both Natasha and Lucy. Suddenly the bed bounced and a big furry nose wiggled its way into the pile.

Lucy giggled wriggling out of the pile to see Shadow. She embraced the massive black dog burying her face into her fur.

"So everyone up for training this morning?" Clint asked sliding off the bed.

"Can we eat first?" Lucy asked looking up at Clint.

"Yep, let's get going then. We all sort of slept in," Natasha said getting up as well.

Lucy followed her parents to the kitchen and all three practically inhaled bowls of cereal. They broke apart again, going to their separate rooms to change.

Natasha stripped out of her sleep clothes and stood in front of her dresser contemplating what to wear. She felt two calloused hands slip around her waist pulling her back against a warm chest. Clint peppered kisses along her shoulder causing her skin to break out in goosebumps.

"So why were you in there this morning?" Natasha asked pulling open one of the dresser drawers.

She felt Clint sigh against her skin causing her to shiver slightly.

"Shadow is the one that woke me up last night. She took me to Lucy. She was having a nightmare," Clint explained.

Natasha turned around in Clint's arms to face him.

"Did she tell you what it was about?" she asked raising an eyebrow.

"It was about Loki," Clint said in a low tone.

Natasha's eyes flashed in anger. She pulled out of Clint's arms and went back to pulling out an outfit.

"I'm going to kill him," Natasha growled tugging on a black fitted tank top.

Clint had crossed to his own dresser and pulled on a sleeveless black fitted top as well.

"Not if I get to him first, Tasha," Clint replied pulling on his black combat pants.

Natasha yanked on a matching pair of pants like Clint's and sat down on the bed to pull her socks.

"Боже, я даже не хочу думать о том, что он заставил ее сделать," Natasha hissed. (God, I don't even want to think of what he made her do)

"She'll tell us when she's ready," Clint said as he tied his boots.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in," Clint called out.

Lucy cautiously walked in, "Is this alright?" she asked gesturing to her outfit. She wore an almost exact copy of what her parents wore.

"Perfect," Natasha replied.

"I bought my bow too," Lucy said holding up her weapon.

"Great! Follow me," Clint said leading her to the shooting range. "You can set your bow down on the table. I want to show you something," he continued walking to the room across the hallway. "We'll get your handprint scanned in soon," he said as he scanned his hand and the door swung open.

Lucy's mouth fell open, "Damn," she breathed.

"Yeah I feel like that every time they open this door," another male said startling Lucy.

She spun around to find Phil standing in the hallway. He looked strange wearing jeans and a t-shirt. Lucy beamed at him and sprung forward, catching him off guard, wrapping her arms around him, "Phil!" she exclaimed.

Phil chuckled, "Hey kiddo."

Clint couldn't help but smile at the interaction. He was glad that Lucy already had the same relationship that he and Natasha had with Phil.

"So what you guys up to on this morning?" Phil asked placing his hands on his hips.

"Phil! When did you get here?" Natasha asked as she came out of the bedroom.

"Just a bit ago," Phil replied walking over to Natasha and pulling her into an embrace. "How you doing Momma?" he whispered in her ear.

"Good, everything is good Phil," Natasha replied.

"We were just going to do a little bit of family training," Clint finally answered.

"Sounds like fun. Mind if I watch?" Phil asked.

"Nah, you know you're welcome," Clint replied.

Phil smiled, "Then don't let me get in the way."

Clint motioned for Lucy to join him in the room full of weapons.

"Do you guys use all of these?" Lucy asked staring at the vast aray of guns.

"At one time no, but they have all been used." Clint said as he picked up a box off of the rack.

He flipped up the latches and opened the top to reveal a recurve bow neatly folded up.

"I want you to try this one today. It's weight should be just right for you. Do you have a glove and guard?" Clint asked.

Lucy shook her head.

"That's okay, I've got plenty," Clint said turning to a draw and pulling out a glove and guard.

Natasha came in behind them and reached in between to grab a pair of pistols. She slipped the guns into her side pockets and grabbed a box of ammo and couple clips.

"Will you carry this?" Clint asked holding out the folded up bow to Lucy. "Then go back to the range."

She nodded and exited the room. Phil followed Lucy and took a seat in the single chair in the room.

"They're good teachers," Phil said his voice echoing slightly.

"Yeah thanks to you," Clint added as he walked in holding another bow and two quivers.

He set one quiver down and slung the other over his back. He wore his own glove and guard. Natasha came in after and set another pair of pistols odwn on the table. Lucy noticed that these looked different than the others in her pocket.

"So here's the plan. We can do weapons then hand to hand." Natasha said.

"But first I wanna see her shoot Tash," Clint said.

Lucy gulped, "With my bow?"

"Yep, just pick a target and shoot," Clint replied nodding down the room.

Lucy slipped on the glove noting how soft the worn leather was. On the other arm she pulled on the guard then picked up her own bow and small quiver.

She stepped up to the X that was marked on the floor. She nocked an arrow and pulled her bow up ready to shoot, searching for a target. She could see her own arm shake, not from tension but from fear. She was afraid of disappointing the three people watching. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. These people wouldn't care whether she missed or not. She opened her eyes, locking on the farthest target and let go.

The arrow whistled through the air and landed with a satisfying thunk in the dead center.

"That's my girl!" Clint cheered picking Lucy up and twirling her in a circle. He sat her back down and planted a kiss on the top of her head.

"That was beautiful," he beamed.

Lucy felt her face flushed as she smiled at her father. She glanced over to her mother, seeing she wore the same proud look.

"I want to see you two shoot." Lucy said taking off her quiver and talking to the table to set it down.

"At the same time or separately?" Natasha asked as she loaded her pistols.

"Separately," Lucy said walking over to stand next to Phil.

"Nat, you go first," Clint said settling his quiver more comfortably on his back.

"Set it for level 3," She called out.

Lucy watched Clint walk to a control panel and press a couple of buttons. The room sprang to life and the targets disappeared. Natasha stood on the same mark, Lucy had been on and waited. She nodded once and Clint pressed another button. If lucy had blinked she would have missed the entire display.

She watched in awe as her mother flawlessly fired at each target that popped up, moving with such fluidity and grace. No more than two minutes later, it was over. Natasha popped out the two empty clips, tucking them into her pocket then turned to face Lucy.

"Can you teach me?" Lucy blurted out causing Natasha to let out a breathy laugh.

"Yeah I can teach you," she chuckled. "Your turn hot stuff," she added looking at Clint.

Clint smiled and snapped open his bow with a quick jerk of his arm.

"Fun time," he said passing Natasha and taking she spot while she took his.

Natasha reset the room and waited for his signal.

Lucy paid close attention to her father's starting stance. He let the bow rest low by his side nodding to Natasha. In a split second he whipped his bow up and let loose.

He was equally as incredible as Natasha, moving so smoothly and perfectly. He looked like he wasn't even trying. He ended just seconds before Natasha's time.

"I win," he boasted looking to Natasha.

She rolled her eyes, "Whatever, what was that one time out of thousands? I'll let you have this one," Natasha quipped. Lucy looked to Phil confused.

"They have always competed to see who could do the courses fastest. In shooting, Natasha whips your father's ass. In physical, they are equally matched. Clint had more endurance and patience though," Phil explained.

"On some occasions I can beat her," Clint added giving Natasha a quick peck on the cheek.

"I let him win so he doesn't hurt his ego," Natasha said winking at Lucy.

"I want you to try this bow. The biggest difference between this one and yours is that this one doesn't take as much strength and energy to pull back. It lets you fire off a lot more arrows without getting as tired," Clint explained snapping open the second recurve bow and handing it to Lucy.

"Now this quiver is super cool," Clint started picking up a smaller quiver than the one on his back.

"He's proud of his arrows," Natasha quipped as she pulled out a cloth to wipe down her guns.

Clint shot her a look, "SHIELD created a bunch of arrows that the heads are interchangeable. So like one is a grappling hook, one explodes…"

"One is sonic that you shouldn't use," Natasha mumbled.

"My turn to talk," Clint growled.

Lucy chuckled catching her mother's playful gaze.

"What's wrong with the sonic one?" Lucy asked.

Clint sighed, "I used one once on a bad situation."

"And it left your father partially deaf," Natasha added.

"You're deaf?" Lucy asked giving her father a confused look.

"Partially, I can hear every wood you're saying. It's just when everything is loud. I have hearing aids for missions, but other than that I just read lips," Clint explained.

"Oh," Lucy replied looking back down at the quiver.

"Anyways, there is a button on the bow that controls the quiver. The quiver is loaded with the different heads and the button tells it which one to use and when to put it on. You press up to change heads and down to put them on. Pretty simple," Clint continued.

Lucy looked at the bow. Right below the grip was the button Clint was talking about.

"Try it," he urged.

Lucy cautiously pushed the button up, watching the quiver carefully. With a soft whir the quiver came to life. She could see the bottom on the inside rotate, lining up a new head to the arrow body.

"That's pretty cool," Lucy said.

"Yeah it is. You pretty much just have to memorize what heads are loaded. Right now these are plain," Clint said handing over the quiver.

Lucy slung it onto her back and adjusted the strap.

"Now, let's shoot again," Clint said nodding towards the starting spot. "Nock an arrow and ready yourself to shoot," he instructed.

Lucy complied, noting how it really was easier to pull back the string. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched her father circle her, scrutinizing her stance. She felt him touch her elbow.

"May I adjust?" he asked.

Lucy nodded.

Phil smiled as he watched the exchange between father and daughter. He leaned over to Natasha, who had crouched down next to him.

"Reminds me of you two," he whispered.

Natasha raised an eyebrow questioningly, "Oh?"

"I remember two young agents. One insisting that they know how to use each other's weapons in case of emergency and the other griping about it," Phil said.

Natasha smiled looking back at Clint and Lucy. She could herself and Clint doing the same thing years ago.

"It did came in handy eventually," Natasha confessed.

"You okay with her doing this?" Phil asked.

Natasha sighed, "Yes and no."

She smiled though as Lucy let an arrow fly landing with perfect accuracy, mirroring her father's.

"I want her to be able to defend herself, but I don't want her to become us," Natasha finished.

Phil patted her shoulder, "She'll be okay Nat. She's a fighter and strong, jus tlike her parents."

Natasha chuckled, "Yeah, I know."

Lucy came bounding over, a huge grin plastered to her face.

"Did you see that?" she exclaimed.

Natasha stood up and smiled softly, "Of course I did. You are your father's daughter."

"Yes she is!" Clint boasted beaming at Natasha, his pride practically radiating.

"Now it's my turn," Natasha said walking over to retrieve the small guns from the table. "You don't have to choose guns as your main weapon, but I want you to be able to shoot just in case." She explained.

Lucy nodded enthusiastically and shrugged off the quiver and shed her arm guard and bow.

It was Clint's turn to sit next to Phil and observe.

"God, Phil, I don't even know where to start," Clint breathed.

Phil chuckled, "I take it everything has gone well?"

"We took her shopping and she met, well met again, everybody. Last night she didn't sleep well," Clint said

"Nightmare?" Phil asked.

"Yeah, why's you think that?" Clint asked.

"She had one the night with me," Phil replied.

Clint furrowed his brow and rubbed his chin.

"I wouldn't think too much into it," Phil quickly added.

"Hmm, maybe," Clint replied.

The two men were quiet for a moment, watching Natasha instruct Lucy on how to handle the gun. They watched her fire one round with frightening accuracy.

"Have you two told her about your jobs? Past and current," Phil asked softly.

"No," Clint replied quickly.

"Why not?" Phil pressed.

"Nat and I worked like hell to wipe that shit out of our ledgers. We don't exactly want to bring it all back up," Clint replied in a gruff tone.

"But would you rather tell her or have her find out?" Phil pointed out.

Clint didn't reply.

"I'm serious Clint. She had a right to know," Phil said.

"Eventually, but not now," Clint replied signaling the end of the topic.

The door to the range opened up and Lida and Anya came in.

"Good Morning Bartons! Oh, hi Phil!" Lida exclaimed.

"We're stealing Lucy," Anya said taking the gun from Lucy, flicking on the safety, and tossing it to Lida who put it on the table.

"Excuse me?" Natasha chuckled crossing her arms over her chest.

"Don't worry Natalia. We'll bring her back alive and well," Lida said looping her arm around Lucy's and pulling her out the door.

"Where are you going?" Natasha asked Anya.

"To the park to grab some food and talk, we've missed our птичка," Anya replied.

"Alright, be safe," Natasha sighed.

"It's me, do you think I'd let Lida do anything stupid?" Anya joked walking out the door leaving the, in silence.

"Well damn," Clint said standing up, "Now what?"

"It's actually good timing. Director Fury wants to speak with you two," Phil said.

"Fun, he say about what?" Natasha questioned.

"Nope, we better head out though. Better to be early," Phil replied.

"Let us change," Clint said gathering up the bows and quivers.

"Aww don't change I like you two just the way you are," Phil joked.

Clint rolled his eyes, "Yeah, Yeah, we'll meet you in the living room in 15."

Phil nodded and left the two agents to finish picking up.

Once in the armory, Clint came up behind Natasha and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his head on her shoulder.

"She's amazing," he whispered against her throat before kissing the skin.

"Mmmhmm," Natasha replied placing the guns back on their shelf.

"We have to share, Tasha," Clint murmured.

Natasha sighed, "I know, doesn't mean I have to like it."

She turned around in his arms and wrapped her own around his neck.

"I love you," Clint murmured bending his neck down to capture her lips.

The kiss was brief, but sweet and warming.

"Let's go change. Phil's waiting," Natasha whispered pulling away.

* * *

A/N: PLEASE REVIEW SO I KNOW YOU GUYS ARE STILL OUT THERE AND DONT HATE ME :)


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: I finally got Fanfiction to work with me and actually get this chapter up...so the fun continues! I'm working on the next chapter when I'm on break at work so its coming along :)

Please Review!

* * *

After changing into a pair of jeans and t-shirt, Lucy found herself being dragged down some New York street sandwiched between Lida and Anya.

"Are we freaking you out?" Lida asked.

"I've just been going with the flow," Lucy replied.

"That's pretty much all you can do," Anya said stopping at a hot dog vendor.

The three girls ordered then took their food over into the shade of one of the large trees in the park.

"Where are we?" Lucy asked sitting down cross legged.

"This is Central Park. One of my favorite places to go in New York,  
Lida replied sitting down next to Lucy.

"Why's that?" Lucy asked then took a bite of her hotdog.

"I like to paint the landscapes," Lida said with a smile.

"Cool," Lucy said.

The three ate their food in silence, just listening to the birds and people around them. Once they finished, Lida gathered the trash slipped away then plopped back down.

"So I bet you're wondering why we stole you away from your parents for the day?" Lida asked.

"Sort of?" Lucy chuckled

"Your mother is very special to both of us," Anya started.

"You two came from the Red Room too, she told me that," Lucy said.

"Yes, we did. She was a light of hope in a dark tunnel," Anya continued. "We got to watch you grow from the very beginning. If I'd say so myself, we were a little fond of you."

"A little? Ha I came up with your nickname. I used to sneak out of my room and go to Natalia's cell and snuggle with her. I loved watching and feeling you move. IO know it sounds creepy," Lida said.

"Actually its not. So you two were like my sisters," Lucy said.

Lida lit up, "Yes, it killed us when you disappeared." She frowned slightly at the end.

"What happened to my mom when she was captured? I know she's never going to tell me, but I want to know. I want to understand," Lucy said softly looking down at her hands.

Lida looked to Anya nervously.

"Loki was not the first one to want to take you away from her," Anya began. "I'm going to tell you everything if that is okay? Perhaps this will help you understand why your parents have acted the way they have."

Lucy nodded and leaned back on her hands.

"When your mother was captured, she did not know she was pregnant. The leader of the program, Ivan Petrovitch, discovered that she was. Keep in mind, Natalia was only about 17 weeks along so she wasn't showing much."

"Why do you call her Natalia?" Lucy interrupted.

"It's the Russian version of Natasha," Lida answered.

Lucy nodded, "Oh okay."

"After she learned she was pregnant, Natalia panicked. Petrovitch enjoyed watching her squirm. His plan was to break her, take you, and lure in Clint to kill him as well. Clint had taken Natalia away from Petrovitch and he didn't like that very much. She was his prize possession. He made her train us. I fought her and managed to land one blow. Unfortunately it was to her stomach. Petrovitch was furious. He lunged at me and Natalia protected me. After that Lida and I frequently visited her. She would walk us through defense moves and tell us stories about her time at SHIELD."

"You kept her spirits up I'm sure," Lucy commented.

Anya smiled, "Not just her spirits, but ours too. She became the mother we desperately craved. Neither of us remembered our parents. Eventually the time came when my first mission came up."

Lucy watched Anya tense slightly as she readjusted her legs.

"I went to Natalia terrified. I was only 12 years old and was being sent to kill a man. She told me that I was strong and not to be afraid. I completed the mission and went back to her. I still can't get the image of that man's bloody body out of my mind. I stayed with Natalia that night terrified because I knew I had messed up. I hadn't completed the mission in the allowed amount of time. I knew I was going to be punished for that. The next morning Petrovitch found me and took both myself and Natalia to be whipped."

Anya paused and looked down, "She took the punishment for me. I only got one lash, she got four. When Lida and I went to check on her afterwards, we found her on the ground bleeding. I thought she had lost you," Anya said softly. "But she didn't, you were okay. Lida and I made our visits a little less often. One day we managed to sneak Natalia out to call Clint. Everything was looking better until Petrovitch got drunk. It wasn't some rare event, but this time he was pretty fair gone," Anya took a deep breath. "He raped me; told me I would never be as good as Natalia. Never be as beautiful."

"I went and got Natalia. Being the badass she is, she took out the guards nearly 7 months pregnant and took Anya back to her cell," Lida said.

Lucy smiled slightly picturing her mother pregnant and snapping some man's neck.

"A couple of days later, the Avengers came." Lida said smiling brightly.

"That's when we met Clint. He gave me the GPS to lead us girls out to the Quinjet and him and Anya went after Petrovitch."

"fighting with your father was quiet the experience. He took Petrovitch out and ran to be with you," Anya said smiling. "You were very small when you were born. Tony tried to hold you but that didn't work out so well. Steve took you while Natalia dressed and you almost immediately stopped crying. You liked everyone, especially Phil. After we got to the Helicarrier, my father Bruce, adopted me and Steve adopted Lida," Anya finished.

"I can't believe my mother went through all that just to have me taken away a year later," Lucy mumbled.

"That's why they are somewhat clingy and over the top," Lida explained.

"What happened to them after I was taken?" Lucy asked not really knowing whether she wanted to know or not.

"It wasn't pretty. They both were extremely depressed. We all were. It wasn't until the twins were born did things start to look up. About two months before they were born it got to the lowest point," Lida said glancing to Anya.

"Natalia tried to kill herself," Anya said softly.

Lucy felt her heart drop. Her mother had tried to commit suicide all because she thought her daughter was dead.

"I stopped her. I begged her to not give up on the hope you were still alive," Lida said.

"I'm glad you did," Lucy said meeting Lida's gaze.

"We better head back," Anya said with a sigh.

The other two girls nodded in agreement and stood up, dusting off their pants.

As they walked back to the Tower, Lida pulled Lucy back a couple of paces behind Anya.

"I know that is a lot to think about," she said softly.

"It's a lot but I wanted to know," Lucy replied.

"Your parents are amazing and have never ever stopped loving you. Indulge them," Lida chuckled.

"I have been," Lucy said with a smile.

"One more thing. What's up with you and my brother?" Lida asked with a sly grin.

Lucy felt her face flush slightly. "He just offered to hang out."

Lida laughed, "He's a good boy, very talented. You'd have fun hanging out with him."

"Glad I have your approval," Lucy joked as they boarded the elevator.

Lida pulled Lucy into a hug once they reached the Barton's floor.

"I'm glad you're back," she whispered before pulling away.

Lucy looked to Anya to say goodbye, not expecting a hug from her. But she was proved wrong, when Anya wrapped her arms around her closer.

"I'm glad you are alive. You don't know it but you are so loved by everyone here," Anya whispered before giving Lucy a peck on the cheek and backing away.

Lucy stepped out of the elevator and smiled at the two, "I'll see you guys later."

Once the doors closed, Lucy sighed and went to find Shadow.

She found the dog curled up in her room on her bed. Lucy smiled and lay down next to her and started stroking her fur. Shadow opened her eyes to see who was touching her then sighed and closed them again. After a few minutes, she heard the jingle of keys and footsteps down the hall.

She got up and raced to her doorway peering out. She found her mother walking towards her with a look of annoyance on her face. Once she spotted her daughter the expression changed to relief and joy.

"Hey you're back," Natasha said pausing at the doorway.

Lucy looked at her mother, a flood of emotion washing over her. All at once she felt sad for her, thankful for her, and love for her. She lunged forward and wrapped her arms around Natasha's neck, burying her face into her shoulder.

"I love you," Lucy mumbled as her eyes teared up. Natasha held her daughter close resting her cheek on her head, her own eyes beginning to blur with tears.

"I love you too, always have always will," She replied kissing the top of her head.

Clint came down the hall and stopped at the two hugging. Lucy looked up and held her arm out to him; gesturing for him to join in. Clint smiled and walked forward wrapping his arms around bother of them. The three stood like this for a bit, just enjoying each other's company. Suddenly there was a loud grumble causing them to break apart. Clint looked down and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "Yeah I guess we should eat."

"Obviously," Natasha chuckled rolling her eyes.

"What are we having?" Lucy asked leaning against the door frame.

"Let's just order a pizza. I don't feel like cooking." Clint said pulling out his cell phone.

As he ordered, Natasha turned to Lucy.

"So did you have a good time with the girls?" she asked.

"Yeah, we talked about you two," Lucy replied.

Natasha frowned slightly, her heart jumping up into her throat. "What'd you guys talk about?" she asked keeping calm.

"They told me about you being captured and Dad coming to rescue us," Lucy replied trying to read her mother's reaction.

Natasha sighed, "What do you think about all of that?"

"Honestly, I think it's amazing what you did. You kept us both alive and saved all those girls," Lucy replied.

"In that way, I guess it was amazing. I wouldn't call myself amazing," Natasha said softly.

Lucy gave her a questioning look.

"One day, I'll explain, but not today," Natasha said with a hint of sadness in her tone.

"Alright pizza will be here in 20," Clint said.

"I'm gonna shower real quick, okay?" Lucy said.

"Okay, we'll call you when it gets here," Clint replied with a smile.

Lucy smiled back and crossed to the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

Clint watched Natasha's posture visibly slumped as she continued to their room. He followed and watched her collapse on her back on the bed. He sat down next to her reaching out and touching her hand. They heard the shower start up, breaking the silence.

"Tasha," Clint whispered rubbing his thumb over the top of her hand.

Natasha took a deep breath, "They told her about when I was pregnant."

Clint could see the tears gather in the corners of her eyes. He frowned and squeezed her hand.

"I'm not mad at them, its just…" Natasha sighed struggling to find her words.

"You weren't ready to go down that road," Clint said softly.

Natasha drew in a shaky breath, "Nope," she squeaked.

Clint watched a single tear slid down her cheek. He sighed and lay down next to her pulling her into his arms, against his chest.

"Oh Nat, its okay," he murmured into her hair.

"She thinks we're these awesome people, but God, she doesn't even know about how many people we've murdered," Natasha breathed.

"I have a feeling that she's not going to really care, Nat," Clint replied.

"Oh?" she asked sniffling slightly.

"She just loves us. If you just love someone enough, you look past all of that," Clint explained.

Natasha caught on to his double meaning. Both of them had looked past each other's dripping ledgers and loved each other for who they are.

They laid there in silence till they heard the water shut off.

As if on cue, Clint's phone rang announcing the arrival of dinner. Clint kissed Natasha softly before heading to go retrieve the food. Natasha shuffled out to the kitchen and pulled out paper plates for each of them. Lucy came in with Shadow on her heels and took a seat at the counter. She already wore her pajamas and her hair braided down her back.

Clint came in and set the pizza down before slipping into the chair next to Lucy. The three dug in, devouring almost the entire pizza. Clint tossed the crust to Shadow who happily munched away.

"Why'd you guys get a dog?" Lucy asked suddenly.

"I had a dog when I was a kid. Your mother actually suggested it. Every kid needs a dog," Clint replied.

"I really like her," Lucy giggled offering her crust to Shadow.

"Well, she's your dog," Natasha said with a smile.

Lucy smiled and tried to stifle a yawn.

"I think I'm gonna turn in," she said.

"Okay, sleep good," Clint said smiling softly at her.

"See you in the morning," Lucy added getting up and motioning for Shadow to follow.

Once in her room, Lucy closed the door softly and crawled into bed. Shadow hopped up and snuggled in next to her. Lucy smiled and scratched the dog's head.

"I appreciate the company Shadow," Lucy said softly. She shuffled down lower into her pillows and closed her eyes. To her surprise sleep came quickly, leaving her only a moment to pray that this night would be calm.

_She was walking down a golden hall that she recognized as part of the palace in Asgard. She could hear her dress rustle as she walked, her footsteps echoing off the stone floors._

_Finally she made it to the throne room spotting Loki standing in the shadows of the pillars. She ran to him leaping into his open arms giggling as he spun her around. _

"_My goodness, you have gotten taller," he exclaimed balancing her on his hip._

"_I missed you, Loki," she said wrapping her arms around his neck._

"_I missed you as well," Loki replied smiling at her._

"_Will you stay?" she asked._

"_Not for long, child. I have business to attend to, but before I got I have a task for you," Loki said. _

_Loki set her down and held out his hand for her to take. Lucy put her small hand in his and allowed herself to be led away to the outskirts. She spotted a figure that had a hood pulled over its head. They stopped a few paces before the figure._

_She looked up at Loki questioningly._

_Loki smiled and held out a bow and arrow that seemed to come out of nowhere._

"_Now child, kill him," Loki said softly._

_Terror flooded her eyes as she looked at Loki. _

"_But Sif said I should never kill unless it's for defense," she whimpered._

"_Ignore that lesson," Loki hissed kneeling down next to her. _

"_Do you want to live?" he whispered in her ear._

"_Yes," she breathed._

"_Do you believe murders deserve to live?" he continued._

"_No," she squeaked her arms beginning to shake._

"_This man is a murder. He has killed more than you can count," Loki kissed._

_She gripped her bow tightly._

"_Kill him, rid the world of his filth," Loki ordered nudging her forward._

_She stumbled slightly and shakily raised her bow, aiming for the man's heart. _

"_Do it now!" Loki spat._

_She closed her eyes, letting go of the string. She winced when she heard the sickening thunk of the arrow hitting its target. When she opened her eyes, Loki now stood by the figure with his hand on the hood._

_The look in his eye had changed. Now it was cold and frightening._

"_Well done, child," he said his voice causing her to shiver. _

_He then yanked off the hood and she fell to her knees in horror. Before her lay Clint. Out of nowhere a scream bubbled up from her throat and split the deafening silence_

Natasha bolted up right in bed as a muffled scream ripped through the apartment. Her body moved on its own accord, practically running to her daughter's room and bursting in the door. She was at the bed in seconds, gathering up Lucy in her arms, cradling her to her chest.

"Shhh, Mommy's here baby. Come one wake up sweetheart," Natasha said stroking Lucy's face.

Lucy's eyes flung open, staring wildly up at Natasha before finally melting into her embrace.

"Tell me what happened," Natasha whispered.

"He…he made me…made me…kill dad…"Lucy sobbed clinging to Natasha tightly.

Natasha looked up to see Clint standing in the doorway looking heartbroken.

"Dad's okay, look baby he's right there," Natasha replied softly stroking Lucy's hair.

Lucy looked at the door way and choked back a sob of relief. Clint frowned and walked forward, taking a seat on the other side of Lucy. He rubbed her back soothingly.

"You don't know what he made me do," Lucy groaned, squeezing her eyes shut tight.

"It was wrong of him. You were just a child," Natasha said trying to shove down the anger towards Loki.

Lucy couldn't help everything that tumbled out of her mouth. She needed to get it off her chest just to breathe again.

"I was like his personal assassin. God he made me kill so many people. I never wanted to do any of it. I see all of their faces when I close my eyes. It never ends," Lucy explained.

Natasha looked at Clint, her eyes shining with tears. Their nightmare had come true. She had had the life they never wanted for her. Her ledger was just as red as their own.

"We know how you feel," Clint murmured leaning over and kissing the top of Lucy's head.

"Before SHIELD, both of us were assassins, hired guns working for blood money to survive. We've killed hundreds of people and haven't forgotten one of them," Clint said.

"How do you live with it?" Lucy moaned burying her head in Natasha's shoulder.

"I wish I could tell you that it easy, but it's not. You do deeds that outweigh your past and slowly you come to forgive yourself." Natasha whispered.

"We'll help each other through this," Clint said meeting Natasha's gaze.

"Do you want us to stay?" Natasha asked softly.

"Naw, I'm okay," Lucy mumbled shifting out of her mother's arms and back into her pillows. Clint pulled the covered back over her.

"We're just down the hall, okay?" he said getting up.

Shadow promptly took his place and snuggled close to Lucy.

Natasha and Clint quietly left the room and went back to their own. Once back in bed, Natasha curled up in Clint's arms burying her face in his chest.

"It's okay Nat, she's gonna be okay," Clint murmured.

"I know, this just makes tomorrow harder," she sighed.

Clint sighed, "Just try to sleep. We'll work this out."

Natasha closed her eyes and nuzzled his chest not really wanting the next day to come.

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A/N: sooo what did fury want with Nat and Clint? I want to know what you guys think is gonna happen! REVIEW MY LOVES!


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: i am a bad author :( I am soooo sorry for the delay once again. My internet seriously hates me so I have actually had this chapter done, its just the internet has been fighting me :(

any ways here it is! Im going to try and get the next one out sooner!

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Chapter 15

The next morning was quiet. The family ate breakfast in silence, trying to avoid talking about the night before.

Lucy eventually broke the silence, "So any plans for today?" she asked.

Natasha looked to Clint just as the elevator opened. Phil stepped out greeting Shadow as he walked in.

"You guys ready?" he asked looking to Clint and Natasha.

"Ready for what?" Lucy questioned.

"We have to go away for a little while," Clint said slowly.

Lucy's face fell, "Oh."

"I know the timing is horrible," Natasha started but was cut off.

"No its fine. Its your job," Lucy said.

"Wheels up in 15 okay," Phil said before heading back to the elevator.

Lucy followed her parents back to their room, sitting down on their bed and watching Natasha begin to pack while Clint went to the armory.

"We were about to tell you," Natasha said as she shoved spare clothes and a first aid kit into a bag.

"I figured," Lucy replied.

"We'll be gone for at least a month," Natasha said softly.

"Okay," Lucy said.

Natasha went to the closet and pulled out her cat suit. She slipped into the bathrrom and quickly changed. When she came back out, Lucy was fiddling with the zippers in the bag.

"Dad's changing in the other bathroom," Lucy said softly.

Natasha sat down and began to pull on her boots.

"You can stay on this floor or go to any of the others," Natasha said.

"Sounds good," Lucy replied quickly.

Clint came back into the room, "You ready?" he asked.

Natasha nodded and stood up, Lucy climbed off the bed and followed them to the elevator. Both parents took turns embracing their daughter whispering their good byes. Lucy watched them step into the elevator and once the doors closed she slumped. She was alone again.

Once the doors closed, Natasha took a deep breath looking up at the ceiling. She didn't want to cry but her tear ducts were betraying her.

"Tasha," Clint started but she held up a hand to silence him.

"Don't, just don't," she growled pushing down her motherly side and pulling up the Black Widow.

They stepped out onto the roof where Phil was waiting with a Quinjet.

Natasha briefly greeted him before boarding the jet. Clint stopped next to Phil and shifted the pack on his shoulder.

"We should have told Fury no," he said softly. "You know what she's going to do."

Phil sighed, "Make it look like an accident if you can."

"That's the plan boss," Clint replied before boarding and taking a seat next to Natasha.

The engines whirred to life and the back gate closed up. As the jet took off, Natasha reached over and took Clint's hand in hers. He squeezed it reassuringly before closing his eyes and trying to block out the flight ahead.

* * *

Night had fallen and her stomach finally decided to growl. Lucy opened cabinet after cabinet in the kitchen with no luck. She looked at Shadow who was laying on the floor watching her every move.

"Well Girl, its not looking too good for me. So now what?" Lucy said.

Shadow let out a soft whine before standing up and walking to the elevator.

"I feel bad asking the others for food," Lucy said closing the cabinet she was looking in and walking over to the elevator.

Shadow barked and sat down.

"Okay, fine." Lucy sighed pushing the button to go down.

Once inside with Shadow, she stared at the row of buttons for the floors. The only one that looked remotely appealing was the Rodgers.

She looked down at Shadow before pressing the button. A few moments later the doors opened up to the Rodgers floor. Shadow bounded in immediately jumping on the couch and settling herself down.

"Hey Shadow!" Lida exclaimed. She looked up and beamed at Lucy. "Hey girl what's up?"

"Couldn't find any food," Lucy replied.

"That's okay, you can join us for dinner Sweetheart," Peggy said coming into view.

"Thank you, Mrs. Rodgers," Lucy said.

"It's no problem," Peggy replied.

Oliver came in and stopped mid step when he spotted Lucy, "Hey," he said softly.

"Hey yourself," Lucy replied, smiling slightly.

"Dinner is ready," Peggy said setting a bowl down on the table.

"Where's Steve?" Lucy asked.

"He's not here tonight. He had a meeting to attend so it's just you kids and me," Peggy answered.

Lucy nodded and sat down at the table across from Oliver. He smiled softly at her causing her to look down at her plate.

Lida gave Lucy and sly smile. This was going to be one awkward dinner.

* * *

They were an hour out from the location when the jet jolted, waking both Natasha and Clint up.

Clint unbuckled his seatbelt and stood up, grabbing onto bar over his head.

"I'm gonna see what's going on," he said.

Natasha nodded.

The jet shook again causing Natasha to close her eyes tightly as her stomach tossed. Clint came stumbling back to her with a grim look on his face.

"We're gonna have to jump," he said as he pulled two parachutes down from the bin above them.

"What's going on?" Natasha asked as she pulled on the chute.

"Pilot doesn't know, but he wants to turn around out of this turbulence. I don't want to scrap this mission." Clint explained.

Natasha sighed, "I'm really getting too old for this shit, Clint."

"You and me both Nat," Clint replied tightening his own chute. He looked back to the pilot and signaled for him to lower the back gate.

As the door went down, the wind howled outside. Natasha looked at Clint waiting for him to make his move. Clint gave her his famous half smile, "Let's do this." He said before walking to the edge of the gate and stepping off into the darkness.

* * *

Dinner went by relatively smoothly. Other than the occasional glance from Oliver, Lucy felt like she belonged. After bidding the Rodgers good night she retreated to the elevator with Shadow on her heels. As the doors closed, Oliver managed to squeeze in.

"So I hope that wasn't too bad," he said shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Naw, you guys are fine. I'm still getting used to the whole family thing," Lucy said stepping out onto her floor.

Oliver and Shadow followed.

"That's okay, we're all pretty patient. They've missed you a lot." Oliver replied.

Lucy sighed, "Yeah and now…"

"You're not alone, Lucy," Oliver said touching her hand.

"I know," she whispered.

Oliver leant in a placed a small kiss on her cheek, "Good Night, Lucy." He whispered before turning to leave.

"Thank you for being here," Lucy said as he stepped into the elevator.

"I be below if ya need anything," Oliver replied with a smile as the door closed.

Lucy ran a hand through her hair and looked down a Shadow.

"Yeah, I know, Dad's gonna kill him," Lucy mumbled.

Natasha hated falling. Even though she knew she had a parachute, the feeling of falling through the pitch black darkness was not comforting. She could make out the shape of the trees that were rapidly approaching, so she yanked on the release cord. Immediately she was yanked up, the air from her lungs leaving her body.

The next thing she felt were the tree branches scraping, slapping, snapping as she fell through the forest. Thankfully she landed on the floor instead of getting tangled up in branches.

"Tasha!" Clint called out as he made his way to where she was unbuckling herself from chute.

His hands were immediately on her face. His eyes met hers as he brushed away the blood from the cut on her cheek.

"Damn branches," she mumbled.

"Yeah, I know they got me too," he replied before kissing her lightly on the lips.

"So how far out are we?" Natasha asked shrugging off the chute.

"At least a day now on foot," Clint replied.

"We might as well camp for the night," Natasha suggested.

"That's what I was thinking," Clint said.

He began to unload his pack. Natasha knelt down and opened her own pack. Right on top she found a small piece of paper folded up. She pulled it out and held it out to where she could read the writing in the moonlight. Neatly written on the top was _'Mom'_. Natasha fell back on her heels as she unfolded the paper.

'_I just wanted to tell you two I love you and be safe. –L'_

Natasha couldn't help the sob that bubbled up. Clint was at her side in a heartbeat.

"Tasha, what's wrong?" he asked.

"Look," she breathed passing the note to him.

Clint read the note and let out a long breath.

"She's something," Clint said his voice cracking slightly.

"We shouldn't have left her. It was way too soon." Natasha mumbled.

"We'll get this over with quick and go home to her." Clint replied pulling her into his arms.

"Let's call her," Natasha suggested perking up slightly.

"That's breaking protocol," Clint playfully warned.

"Do I look like I give a damn about protocol?" Natasha quipped.

"And that's why I have already dialed," Clint replied holding up a SAT phone.

* * *

Lucy had changed into her pajamas and had settled down in bed when the phone on her bedside table rang. Shadow barked once from her place next to Lucy. Lucy picked up the phone and answered, "Hello?"

"_Hey Lu, it's Dad,"_ Clint's voice said.

Lucy's eyes grew wide, "Dad? How are you calling?"

_"Did you really think your mother and I listened to the rules? Of course we were going to call you my little bird."_ Clint said.

"Wow that really means a lot," Lucy replied.

_"I'm glad. How was your day? You're on speaker phone so your mother can hear too," _Clint said.

"Oh! Hi Mom! It was good. I just watched some TV and hung out with Shadow. I ate dinner with Peggy, Lida, and Oliver. And I just got ready for bed." Lucy explained.

_"That's great, Sweetheart. Peggy is a wonderful cook._" Clint chuckled.

_"We got your note. It was just what we needed." _Natasha said.

"I know it wasn't much, but I figured we weren't going to get to talk so I improvised." Lucy said.

_"It was perfect," _Natasha replied. Lucy could hear her mother's voice crack just a little. Her heart clenched knowing that Natasha missed her just as much.

_"Well, you better get some sleep. We'll call you again when we are clear okay?"_ Natasha continued.

"Alright, I'll hold you both to that," Lucy chuckled.

_"Deal, Good Night Lucy. I love you,"_ Clint replied.

_"I love you too!"_ Natasha added.

Lucy smiled to herself, "I love you guys too. Stay safe."

_"We will,"_ Clint said before the line went dead.

Lucy placed the phone back on her bedside table, turned off the lamp, then curled up under her blankets. She reached out to Shadow, burying her hand in the mass of fur around the dog's neck. In return, Shadow turned her head and nuzzled Lucy's head with her nose.

Lucy smiled, "I'm glad you're here with me." Then she closed her eyes as she replayed the conversation with her parents in her head; their voices sending her off to sleep.

* * *

A/N: well what did you guys think. It was a little chapter setting up for the big bang ;)


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: okie dokie heres the new chapter! Enjoy

* * *

Chapter 16

When Natasha woke up the next morning, she spotted Clint sitting on a nearby branch whittling away at some stick.

"You're never awake before me," she croaked her voice rough with sleep.

"I never slept. I kept watch," Clint replied never looking up from the stick.

Natasha sighed and sat up from her makeshift bed. The sun had just started to peak over the top of the trees casting a warm pink glow. She got to her feet, picking up her pack as she walked over to Clint.

"You should have at least waked me so you could get a couple hours of sleep. I don't like traveling with a grumpy Hawk," Natasha said.

"You were exhausted and I'm good," Clint replied.

Natasha huffed, "Well we better head out then, no sense in making this a longer ordeal than it needs to be."

Clint nodded and tucked his stick into his pack before standing up and pulling the pack on.

The mission was pretty simple. They were to infiltrate some believed to be HYDRA weapons manufacturing plant, survey the stock, destroy the plant, and report back to SHIELD. Why they had given the duo a month to take care of this, Natasha didn't know. But she wasn't thrilled about leaving Lucy alone so sooner.

Yes, she was more than capable of taking care of herself, but Natasha had a bad feeling that was biting at her insides.

The two agents began their trek through the jungle towards the plant. They made it to a creek to fill up their canteens when Clint spoke up.

"So do you have a plan?" he asked dipping his canteen into the cool water.

"Not yet, I want to see what we are dealing with before we go in guns blazing." Natasha replied.

"'Guns blazing' is my favorite tactic so make sure it's included eventually," Clint said grinning at Natasha.

"Calm your soldier brain, Hawk. Not everything requires shooting everything," Natasha said.

"You know me Nat, I love…." Clint began but Natasha raised her hand to stop him.

She put a finger to her lips and narrowed her gaze. She looked to the woods were she had heard the sound. Slowly she went for the gun resting on her thigh. The trees rustled once more and she whipped her out her gun.

Clint had his out in a second, but his was not trained on the woods. Instead he point his towards Natasha, who gave him a wild look.

"Don't you even dare," Clint growled.

A second later, Natasha felt an arm wrap around her middle and a knife come up to her throat.

"Come now Agent Barton, what kind of hello is this?" a familiar voice purred in her ear.

A shiver ran down Natasha shine once she realized who had her.

"Let her go, Loki," Clint hissed.

"It's amazing how much your daughter looks like you," Loki said tightening his grip on Natasha's waist.

"Don't bring her into this," Natasha growled wriggling slightly. The blade pressed further into her throat.

"Oh, but she is the reason I am here. I should have never let her go," Loki explained.

"Like hell you will ever see her again." Clint snapped.

"I've been watching her, Agent Barton. She had dinner with the Rodgers last night and then went to bed. How is it you still have that dog?" Loki said smiling.

Natasha felt her stomach jump to her throat.

"She never had any weaknesses, until now. You two weakened the strong woman I created. Now I have to fix that." Loki continued.

Loki's hand let go of Natasha's waist only to slip into his pocket and pull out a syringe with a green liquid. In a flash he stabbed Natasha in the neck. Almost immediately she slumped and dropped to the ground.

"I will kill you," Clint growled just before Loki shot a second syringe at him, landing it in his thigh.

Loki smirked as the archer collapsed. "Your move."

* * *

1 Month Later

Something was wrong. She wasn't sure what it was, but it really was bothering her.

"Lucy?" Oliver called out. He jogged back to where she had stopped and touched her shoulder. "Lu, you okay?"

Lucy shook her head and looked at Oliver. "I'm fine, just a feeling," she replied.

Oliver raised his eyebrow. "Let's just walk the rest of the route okay?" he suggested.

"Yeah, sounds good." Lucy replied.

The two continued down the road back towards the tower keeping a relatively brisk pace.

"Have you heard from them?" Oliver asked after a bit.

"No, I haven't. They said they would call but I guess it hasn't been safe." Lucy replied softly.

Oliver was silent.

"That's why I feel like something's off. They've gone over the time they were supposed to be gone." Lucy said.

"They're gonna be okay. I know it, Lu," Oliver said taking Lucy's hand in his. She squeezed his hand and planted a kiss on his cheek.

"You are too sweet to me," she murmured.

Oliver chuckled. He opened the door to the tower and motioned for her to enter.

"Such a gentleman as well," Lucy added.

"Ah yes, but your gentleman," Oliver replied catching up and wrapping his arms around her waist pulling her into the elevator.

They had only known each other for a month, but he felt like he had known her his whole life. He wasn't looking forward to facing her father once he returned, but he was willing to take it. Lucy was worth it. They hadn't done anything too serious. Of course they had gone on dates and of course they had kissed. But there were sometimes the kissing led to more kissing, and the more kissing led to touching and then a dead end. He didn't want to go any further than she wanted to. He respected her space, but there were days he didn't want to keep his hands off of her. Today was one of those days.

The two reached Lucy's floor and she pulled him in with her.

"Do you have somewhere to be?" Lucy asked.

"Not that I'm aware of. Why?" Oliver replied raising an eyebrow.

"Hmm, just would like some company. You up for that?" She said.

"Of course," Oliver said rolling his eyes.

Lucy smiled and pushed him down onto the couch. She straddled his lap and sat down. Slowly, she ran her hands through his sweaty hair, leaning down kissing him softly on his lips. Oliver moaned and wrapped his arms around her waist.

He left her smiled against his lips and ground her hips against his. Oliver gasped and pushed her back.

"Lu, you can't do that." He breathed.

"And why not?" she replied nipping at his ear.

"Because it's too tempting." He replied.

"Sometimes it's good to give into temptation," Lucy whispered.

"Is that what you want?" Oliver asked his hand shaking slightly on her hip.

"I trust you, Oliver." Lucy replied looking Oliver in the eye.

"Then I want to do this right. Let me take you out to dinner first." Oliver said kissing her cheek.

Lucy smiled, "My gentleman."

"As always," Oliver mumbled. "Now go get cleaned up and I'll meet you downstairs in an hour okay."

"Sounds good, see you in an hour." Lucy replied getting off of him and walking down the hall.

Oliver couldn't help but watch her hips sway as she walked. He smiled to himself as he stood up and went to the elevator. He traveled up to his floor and found his father setting down a bag on the table.

"Hey, Oliver. How was your run with Lucy?" Steve asked.

"Great, she's kinda wound up about her parents though. Have you heard from them?" Oliver asked.

"No, son, I haven't." Steve said quietly.

"Where are you going?" Oliver asked.

"All of us got called out," Steve replied.

"All of us being the Avengers?" Oliver said.

"Yeah, it's not good." Steve paused. "Clint and Nat are missing."

Oliver froze, "What?"

"They never reported in to Fury. Their trackers are not functioning so we're going out to find them where they were last known." Steve explained.

"What are you guys going to tell Lucy?" Oliver asked frowning.

"Nothing right now, we have nothing to tell her. Just keep her distracted right now, okay? You two have quite the relationship," Steve said raising an eyebrow at his son.

Oliver could feel his cheek heat up, "Yeah, um, if you want to call it that."

"I'm not trying to embarrass you, Oliver, but your mother and I aren't stupid. You make each other happy. It's a good thing. You two built it very quickly though." Steve explained.

"I know it's been quick, but it's just…" Oliver started but struggled finding the right words.

"No, I understand. I felt the same way with your mother. One day I just woke up and I knew that she was the one. Just be careful. You picked a girl with quite the set of parents to get approval from." Steve said.

"I'm eighteen, dad, you don't have to start the marriage lecture." Oliver said rolling his eyes.

"Oh, what about the sex talk?" Steve said smiling.

"Oh god, Dad!" Oliver groaned walking down the hall to his room.

"Love you too, Son!" Steve called out chuckling to himself.

An hour later, Oliver stood downstairs in his best button up shirt and a tie he had borrowed from his father. He checked his watch and let out a puff of air. He really didn't know why he was so worried. He had been on many dates with Lucy. But maybe this one was different because of what happened between the two of them this morning or maybe it was because of her parents being missing. Whichever one it was, the nervousness wasn't helping.

A second later the elevator dinged. He turned around to face the elevator just in time to see Lucy step out. Lucy wore a knee length black dress that suited her perfectly. She walked up to him smiled.

"Ready?" she asked.

"Yep, after you," He said.

Oliver drove them to a small café that his father had recommended. Lucy gave him a look as he opened the door for her.

"I've never been here before." She said.

"My dad recommended it. He said they had great fondue." Oliver said.

"Hm, alright." Lucy replied with a smile.

The two ate surprisingly fast for what they typically did. They were in and out in under an hour and a half. Once back at the tower, Oliver followed Lucy up to her floor.

"You know, fondue is pretty good," Lucy said taking Oliver's hand in hers pulling him onto her floor.

"I liked the bread and cheese one the most. What about you?" Oliver said smiling.

"I liked the fruit with the chocolate, specifically the strawberries." Lucy replied heading towards her room.

Oliver followed, hesitant at first. He watched her toe off her shoes and reach for the pins that held up her hair. Oliver moved forward and stopped her. He took over the task, letting her hair tumble onto her shoulders. He ran is hands through her auburn locks.

"I love your hair," he whispered. Lucy chuckled.

She turned around and tugged his tie off, followed closely by unbuttoning his shirt and tossing it aside. Oliver reached around and unzipped her dress, brushing the straps off her shoulders as he ran his hands down her arms. She shivered slightly, but smiled. She tilted her head up and captured his lips.

At the same time, she snaked her hands down and began to unbuckle his pants. Oliver started to push her back towards her bed helping her step out of her dress and stepping out of his pants as they went.

Lucy fell onto the bed with a thump smiling softly back at Oliver. He grinned and crawled onto the bed, over her, capturing her lips once he reached her face.

Lucy ran her hands down his back before pulling him down on top of her. In a flash she had them flipped. She straddled his waist and braced herself by putting her hands on his shoulders. Oliver put his hands on her waist and took a shaky breath. Lucy leaned forward to kiss him, but Oliver stopped her.

"What's wrong?" Lucy asked frowning slightly.

Oliver ran his hands along her back to her bra hook, but then backed off.

"Your parents are missing," he said before he could stop himself. He watched the smile slid right off Lucy's face as she moved to the space on the bed next to him.

"What?" she breathed.

"My dad, Tony, Bruce, they all went out to find them," Oliver said quickly.

"You knew?" she asked turning on him.

"Lucy, I…" Oliver stuttered.

"No, you didn't tell me. You knew and didn't tell me earlier. Why?" Lucy asked.

"Because my father asked me not to; Lu trust me I wanted to. But now you know." Oliver explained.

Lucy got off the bed and walked down the hall. Oliver slid off the bed and followed. Lucy opened up the armory and went in. Immediately she selected the bow her father had had her use and the quiver, checking to see if it was loaded.

"Lucy what are you doing?" Oliver said.

"Going to help." She growled pulling out an arm guard and glove.

"Not tonight," Oliver said grabbing her arm.

"And why not!?" she hissed.

"Because you shouldn't go alone. In the morning, we'll go to Lida, Anya, Anthony, and Amelia." Oliver said.

Lucy took a deep breath.

"First let's put some clothes on and get some sleep," Oliver said softly. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and cupping the side of her face. "You're not alone anymore. I've told you that many times. It's going to be okay. I'm going with you."

One single tear trickled down Lucy's cheek. Oliver wiped it away with his thumb, and then pulled her into his arms.

"Thank you," Lucy breathed letting herself melt into his arms. She was caught off guard when he scooped her up in his arms and carried her back to her room. He laid her down and pulled the comforter up over her before kissing her on her forehead.

As he made to leave, Lucy caught his wrist.

"Stay, just tonight." She said softly.

Oliver nodded and moved to the opposite side of the bed before sliding in next to her. Lucy snuggled up next to him, and then closed her eyes not really wanting to sleep.

* * *

Natasha and Clint woke to the annoying sound of Loki tapping on the bars of the room they were being held in.

"Oh good, you two are up," Loki said smirking at them.

Clint glared at the man, "What do you want?"

"I just thought you would want an update on your daughter," Loki said.

Natasha sat up a little straighter, which Loki noticed.

"She was with that boy again," Loki said.

Natasha felt a little bit relieved to hear Lucy was with Oliver. That meant she was safe.

"They shared a bed last night," Loki continued.

Natasha looked to Clint giving him a warning look.

"Oh come now, doesn't that bother you slightly?" Loki urged.

Clint gripped the bars tighter causing Loki to chuckle.

"Don't worry, I won't harm her…much," Loki said turning on his heel and leaving them.

* * *

A/N: dont forget those lovely reviews!


	17. Ooooooooppps

A/n: Sooooo apparently i deleted an authors note that i had posted as a chapter and didnt realize it! Sooo here i fix it!


	18. Chapter 17

A/N: Sorry for the delay once again! Well after this one There are only three chapters left :( Two actual chapters and an epilogue. So to those that have stayed with me this long...thank you! After this one I think I'm going to take a small break from the Avengers world and try a new fandom to write. (that fandom being Star Trek since the new movie has drilled itself into my brain...Stupid beautiful Chris Pine and Benedict Cumberbatch) :) I still will do a Clint and Nat fic set before the Avengers, just not right away. but keep an eye out for more that will be coming soon!

* * *

Chapter 17

Clint let out a low growl before pushing himself away from the bars. Natasha ran a shaky hand threw her hair.

"What do you think he meant by he wouldn't hurt her much?" She said softly.

"I don't know, but it's pissing me off." Clint hissed.

"Clint, please, just sit with me," Natasha said looking at him with sad eyes.

Clint's expression softened as he sat down next to her. She rested her head on his shoulder.

"Oliver will keep her safe, you know." She said.

Clint sighed, "He's a good boy. I trust him."

"I feel so helpless here." Natasha continued.

Loki had taken all of their weapons and stripped them down of most of their protective clothing. Natasha shivered slightly; the black cami and biker shorts she wore did nothing to keep her warm in the cold cell.

Clint wrapped his arm around her and rubbed up and down to try and warm her up.

"They'll come don't worry," Clint said.

"Yeah, but what happens then? When will this stop? Loki has been after ours heads for 20 something years now. We don't even know why he's after us. How does this end Clint?" Natasha exclaimed.

"It ends with him dead. I'm not letting him live this time." Clint replied.

* * *

"So their trackers went dead here?" Steve asked pointing to a spot marked on the map laid out on the floor of the Quinjet.

"Yeah, we're hoping they haven't gotten farther away than a couple miles," Tony said.

"Loki would have taken great lengths to cloak them," Thor added.

"Very true," Bruce said scratching his head.

"I hate to interrupt the conversation, but I'm getting a transmission that I think you'll want to hear," Phil said from the cockpit.

He flipped a switch and after a moment of static a voice came through.

"_Well, I've been expecting you gentlemen. I am saving you the trouble of hunting me down and sending you the coordinates of my location. I look forward to seeing all of you once again." _Loki said.

The monitor started blinking moments later displaying the location. Phil looked back at Steve and raised an eyebrow.

"Go," Steve said with a nod of his head.

* * *

Lucy tugged on one of her mother's catsuits and zipped it up. She looked at herself in the mirror as she pulled her hair up into a ponytail.

There was a knock at the door.

"Lu? Can I come in?" Oliver asked.

"Yeah," she called back.

Oliver opened the door and paused for a moment. Lucy turned and put her hands on her hips.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing, you look at a lot like your mother in that. I mean, like, an exact copy," Oliver explained.

"Thanks. That's just what I wanted my boyfriend to say about me," Lucy replied rolling her eyes.

Oliver chuckled and wrapped his arms around her waist, "Don't worry, you're much hotter." He said before kissing her on the lips.

Lucy smiled and pushed him away after a moment. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, I've got Lida and Anya getting a jet and the twins couldn't get away from Aunt Pepper, so it's just the four of us," Oliver replied.

Lucy nodded and walked around him out to hallway and down to the living room. They had brought out all the weapons they thought they would need before-hand. Lucy picked up her two pistols and loaded them into the thigh holsters, along with clipping a few rounds to her belt.

Oliver picked up a couple of guns for himself, hooking them into his holsters on his pants and hip. Just as they finished suiting up, Lida and Anya walked out of the elevator.

"Secret Avengers mission, I am definitely in!" Lida exclaimed practically bouncing out of the elevator.

Lida and Anya were both dressed in SHIELD tactical gear and were ready to go.

Anya smiled softly and placed a hand on Lucy's shoulder. "The suit looks good," she said.

Lucy smiled and reached down to pick up her quiver and bow.

"The jet is on the roof. Fury is gonna kill me when he finds out I took it," Anya said.

"Oh! I have a surprise for you on the jet Oliver!" Lida said.

Oliver rolled his eyes and followed his sister into the elevator. Anya and Lucy followed shortly after. They rode to the roof and boarded the jet, Anya and Lida taking a seat in the cockpit.

"It's under the seat, Oliver!" Lida called as they started up the engines.

Oliver bent down and pulled out something metal. Once he had it out he smiled. It was a shield similar to his father's.

"It's not the vibranium like Dad's, but its adamantium. Super strong. Uncle Tony made it for Dad just in case so I snatched it. You're a Rodgers boy, you needed a shield." Lida explained looking back at her brother and beaming.

"Thanks Lida, I love it." Oliver replied. He looked at Lucy who was busy cleaning her bow. "Lu, look." He said nudging her.

Lucy looked up and smiled, "Better watch out, your dad just might let you be Captain America now."

"Naw," Oliver grumbled setting the shield back down. "You better watch out or your dad will let you become Hawkeye."

Lucy frowned and looked down at bow in her hands. Did she want to be the next Hawkeye or Black Widow?

* * *

Natasha didn't remember dozing off, but apparently she did. She woke with a start, her head jerking off of Clint's lap.

"Hey," he said steadying her.

"What's going on?" she asked groggily.

"Not sure, there's been some banging out there and of course Loki is laughing about something," Clint replied.

Natasha stood up and walked to the bars of the cell. Just as she reached the edge the metal door across the room flung open. None other than Steve Rodgers came barreling in.

Clint was on his feet in a heartbeat.

"Cap!" he exclaimed.

"Thank god," Steve breathed coming to a stop in front of them. He brought his shield down hard on the lock, busting them out.

"The boys aren't doing so great out there. Where are your weapons?" Steve continued.

"Just over there, go!" Natasha said nodding to the corner before jogging over to it with Clint on her heels.

The two agents were armed in moments immediately heading towards the door that Steve had left open. They found Thor and Hulk in an intense duel with Loki who was using his multiplying trick to confuse them. Tony lay pinned under some metal beams that Steve was trying to pry off.

Clint knocked an arrow and aimed at the closest Loki hoping it was the real one. He let it fly, but only to watch it go through thin air. Natasha teamed up with Hulk in decreasing the amount of copies. Clint had always been amazed at the team the Big Guy and Nat made. She got through to him in a way that the others didn't. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Hulk lift Nat out of the way of danger only to set her down to take out another copy.

Just as he thought they had the upper hand, he felt a knife graze his bicep causing him to lose his grip on his string momentarily. He returned around quickly to find Loki smirking behind him brandishing a knife. Without a doubt this was the real one.

"My Agent Barton, have you weakened in your old age?" Loki mocked dodging the arrow Clint let fly.

Clint growled and let another arrow fly.

"She really is quite a remarkable marksman, your daughter. She kills without a thought. I trained her well." Loki continued.

"You brainwashed her into something. But now, you'll never touch her again." Clint hissed.

In a blink of an eye, Loki was gone. Clint whirled around searching for the demigod. His eyes finally found him, with his hand wrapped around Natasha's throat.

Clint lunged forward before the others caught on to what was happening. But he froze as an arrow sink into Loki's shoulder causing him to let Natasha go, sending her to the ground gasping for air.

Clint followed the path of the arrow up to beam where his heart sunk at the sight of his daughter perched, ready to shoot again.

"Step away from my mother, Loki," Lucy hissed before sliding down the rope that had gotten her up to the beam.

Loki chuckled and slowly pulled the arrow out of his shoulder. He snapped it in his hand and tossed the pieces aside.

"I was wondering when you would get here." Loki said calmly. In a flash, he was behind Lucy. "Shall we begin?" he whispered into her ear just as he sunk his knife deep into her abdomen.

* * *

A/n: DUN DUN DUN! And here we goooooo! Review!


	19. Chapter 18

A/N: well i guess i shouldnt keep you guys waiting any longer! Only one chapter after this! Dont forget to review!

* * *

Chapter 18

It was as if the world had stopped moving. She couldn't hear anything except for her on breathing in her ears.

She felt Loki pull the knife out of her causing her to gasp as the pain radiated out from the wound. She wasn't sure when she ended up on her knees, but she was. Her hand shakily felt the sticky wetness that was soaking her suit. She looked down at her fingers, blinking, trying to focus on the red.

Then she looked up searching for something as her brain fogged with the pain. Her vision was blurring and clouding up. Finally, she spotted her mother whose mouth was hung open as if she were screaming as she ran towards her, but Lucy heard no noise. She blinked once more and found her father. He looked as white as a sheet.

"Daddy," she croaked before her body finally buckled from the pain.

Natasha was at her daughter's side just in time to catch her head. A sob bubbled out as she cradled her baby, her hand shakily applying pressure to the wound.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!?" Clint yelled firing arrow after arrow at Loki as he advanced on the demigod. All he wanted was to wipe that damn smirk off his face.

He was arms length away when Loki smacked the bow out of his hand, grabbing his wrist and turning it painfully then yanking sharply.

Clint howled in pain and he fell to his knees. Loki rapped his hand around Clint's neck and squeezed.

"That was me making a point. Not just to you, but to all of you," Loki said his cold eyes meeting Clint's.

Suddenly Loki let go of Clint, growling as he lurched forward from a force behind him. Clint stumbled back for a second before landing right next to Natasha and Lucy.

"Clint, she…she's…she's barely breathing," Natasha cried stroking Lucy's pale face.

Clint managed to push himself up to where he could kiss Lucy on the cheek.

"Hang in there baby. Don't leave Mommy and Daddy now," he breathed. He looked up to see who had attacked Loki.

He saw Oliver running in holding a copy of his father's shield in one hand and a gun in the other. Behind the boy were Lida and Anya, who rushed to help Steve unpin Tony.

Oliver froze when his eyes landed on Lucy bleeding on her mother's lap.

Clint saw the boy's expression change from one of pain and worry to one that was extremely pissed off.

"You should have stayed home boy," Loki said in a low voice before throwing a knife at Oliver's direction.

Oliver easily blocked the knife with his shield and fired a shot a Loki.

"Not this time," Oliver growled. He took a step forward and kicked Clint's bow and an arrow towards him.

Clint gritted his teeth and picked up his bow and the arrow. Slowly he got to his feet, looking at Natasha briefly before walking towards Loki.

Hulk finally managed to pull the metal off of Tony and he, Steve, Thor and Tony then joined the circle surrounding Loki.

"What point were you trying to make?" Clint hissed.

Loki chuckled as he stood up. "One that I have been trying to make for years, your daughter was just the final piece to the puzzle."

"You had no right Loki to destroy this family!" Thor boomed.

"I HAD EVERY RIGHT!" Loki yelled. "She was exactly what I was to our dear father, Thor! Nothing more than a spoil of war! A trophy for my struggles!"

"A BABY IS NOT A TROPHY!" Clint growled.

"Oh, but apparently they are. I was but a mere trophy to Odin, I was never his son. Someone needed to feel the pain that I feel. NO ONE, NOT ONE OF ONE! IS HEARTLESS ENOUGH TO DO WHAT I JUST DID! None of you could ever take a life of an unarmed enemy." Loki exclaimed.

There was a moment of eerie silence before an arrow sunk deep into Loki's chest. Loki's smirk fell into a frown as he looked down then up at Clint.

"I was wrong about you…you don't have a heart," Loki sputtered before falling back dead.

Clint looked at Thor, who just solemnly nodded before kneeling next to his fallen brother. Clint then dropped his bow and ran back to Natasha and Lucy.

"We need to get her back to the Helicarrier. She's losing too much blood," Natasha whispered stroking Lucy's hair.

Lucy's eyes fluttered open for a minute. "Daddy?" she croaked gasping for breath.

"Shh, my baby bird, I'm here. Mommy and Daddy are here. Don't talk. Just keep breathing, we're gonna get you fixed up," Clint said as tears fell down his cheek.

"I'm cold," Lucy whimpered.

Clint scooped up his daughter in his arms, ignoring the searing pain flooding through his shoulder.

"It's gonna be okay, baby. I promise. It's gonna be okay," he whispered as he made a beeline to the Quinjet with Natasha on his heels.

Clint and Natasha couldn't sit in the waiting room on the Helicarrier in longer. Both agents retreated to the showers to clean up.

They silently washed the blood off their bodies, trying their best not to think that it was their daughter's. Once they were showered off they shuffled back to the waiting room. The other Avengers had chosen to go back to the Tower to give the family their space.

Minutes passed, then hours. Finally 8 hours later, Coulson emerged from behind the doors leading back to the surgery center. His eyes were puffy and red and tears still streamed down his face as he approached his Agents.

Natasha was the first to notice Phil's tears causing her own to fall.

"No…no, no, no, no," Natasha whispered fearing the worst.

"She's gonna be okay," Phil said with a small chuckle. "She pulled through."

Natasha let out a sob of joy and embraced Phil tightly. Clint covered his face as he breathed heavily in attempt to control himself.

"Can we see her?" Clint asked as Natasha let go of Phil.

"Yeah, you can. She's in recovery." Phil said smiling softly at the two parents.

Natasha didn't need to be told twice. She immediately took off towards the recovery ward. Clint, however, hung back.

"How bad was it?" he asked in a low tone.

"She coded twice. The knife pierced the bottom of her lung so her breathing maybe rough for a bit. But she's going to be okay, Clint. She's alive." Phil replied.

"I thought we had lost her again." Clint breathed.

"She's still here. She's strong, like her parents." Phil said.

"More like stubborn," Clint grumbled.

"That is very true," Phil chuckled.

Clint frowned, his mind drifting for a moment to what Loki had last said.

"Clint," Phil said softly, getting his attention. "Go see your daughter."

Clint smiled and patted Phil on the shoulder before walking off in the direction that Natasha had gone in.

He found Natasha sitting on the bed with Lucy in her arms, holding her tight to her chest. He smiled at the sight of Lucy clinging to her mother. He walked in and sat down on the other side of the bed and rested his hand on Lucy's knee.

"Dad," she whispered her voice hoarse.

"Hey Lu," Clint replied.

"He's gone isn't he?" Lucy asked.

Natasha looked at Clint.

"Yeah, he's gone," Clint said softly.

One tear fell down Lucy's cheek, "You know he was wrong." She whispered.

"What do you mean, sweetheart?" Natasha asked.

"You do have a heart, Dad." Lucy replied.

Clint smiled and leaned forward, placing a kiss on his daughter's forehead.

They were going to be okay. Finally they would get the chance to be a family once again.


End file.
